Ukrainian Charged in Germany Over Nord Stream Blasts

German federal prosecutors said Thursday that a Ukrainian national tied to the Nord Stream pipeline blasts has been charged with being an accomplice to a war crime, disruption of public services, causing an explosion and destroying structures.

The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, is accused of acting on behalf of Ukrainian government entities alongside other military personnel to sabotage the undersea pipelines in 2022.

Prosecutors said the plot aimed to permanently halt gas deliveries through the network and prevent Russia from using natural gas revenues to finance its war efforts.

Serhii K., leading a team of professional divers and an explosives expert, arrived in Germany in September 2022 using a forged Ukrainian passport, and the team then boarded a chartered yacht rented with falsified identification.

The group then transported large quantities of military-grade explosives through international waters to a location near the Danish island of Bornholm, where Serhii K. allegedly attached them directly to the pipelines, prosecutors said.

Serhii K. was arrested in Italy last August and extradited to Germany in November. He has denied involvement.

German courts have asserted jurisdiction over the case since the damaged pipelines terminate in Lubmin, located in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, directly affecting Germany's internal safety and energy security.

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