A Ukrainian ex-military officer went on trial in Germany on Wednesday (October 14), accused of organizing the secret operation that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022, severing western Europe from the biggest source of Russian natural gas.

The suspect, identified under German privacy rules only as Serhii K., is accused of leading a group of Ukrainian agents including divers and an explosives expert to mount one of the biggest infrastructure sabotage operations of modern times.

The case will provide the first opportunity for a public hearing of evidence gathered during a years-long investigation, which has been diplomatically and politically awkward for a German government that remains staunchly supportive of Ukraine despite the investigative trail linking Kyiv to the crime.

Prosecutors have alleged that Serhii K., who was arrested under an international warrant in Italy last year, worked with members of the Ukrainian military to plan the clandestine operation on behalf of unidentified Ukrainian state entities.

Serhii. K. has denied any involvement in the blasts that ruptured the 1,200-km (750-mile)-long Baltic Sea pipeline.

The government in Kyiv has also denied any involvement, a sensitive point in its relations with Germany, Ukraine's largest European supplier of military aid. The Russian government said on Monday it expected a "just verdict" that would reveal the names of the perpetrators and those who ordered the operation.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: HAMBURG, GERMANY (OCTOBER 14, 2026) (NDR POOL - Access all)

1. FORMER UKRAINIAN ARMY OFFICE SERHII K, BETWEEN HIS LAWYERS JES MEYER-LOHKAMP AND NICOLA CANESTRINI

2. SERHII K, AND OTHERS STANDING UP AS JUDGES ENTER

3. JUDGES STANDING AT BENCH

4. PROSECUTION, DEFENCE AND SERHII K

5. COURT ROOM