Key points
- Hamburg's Hanseatic Higher Regional Court ruled on 27 October 2026, on the second day of proceedings, that the trial of Serhii Kuznetsov must go ahead.
- The court rejected a defence application to swear the defendant to secrecy. Presiding judge Anne Meier-Göring said: "Under German law, the defendant is not restricted in his defence."
- Kuznetsov, 50, a former Ukrainian captain and special forces officer, faces charges including causing an explosion, damaging property and complicity in a war crime.
- Prosecutors allege a seven-member team chartered a yacht in Rostock and planted explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines on 26 September 2022, damaging three of the four strings.
A German court has ordered the Nord Stream sabotage trial to proceed, rejecting a defence bid to have the defendant sworn to secrecy. The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg gave its ruling on Tuesday 27 October 2026, the second day of proceedings against Serhii Kuznetsov, a 50-year-old former Ukrainian captain and special forces officer.
Kuznetsov faces charges including causing an explosion, damaging property and complicity in a war crime, in connection with the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. Read more: Hungary blocks Ukraine's final two EU chapters in Brussels — and Kyiv's end-of-2026 hope hangs on what happens next
The key figures
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Defendant's age | 50 | Court reports |
| Alleged team size | 7 people | Prosecutors |
| Pipeline strings damaged | 3 of 4 | Prosecutors |
| Explosives planted | 26 September 2022 | Prosecutors |
| Defendant arrested | August 2025, Italy | Reports |
| Day of proceedings | 2nd, 27 October 2026 | Court |
What the court decided
The secrecy application was the first contested question of the trial. The defence asked the court to swear Kuznetsov to secrecy, which would have restricted what he could say about the case. The judges refused. Presiding judge Anne Meier-Göring said: "Under German law, the defendant is not restricted in his defence." The ruling means the trial continues in open proceedings, with the defendant free to speak in his own defence.
The allegations
Prosecutors allege that a team of seven people chartered a yacht in the German port of Rostock, sailed into the Baltic Sea, and planted explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines. The explosions on 26 September 2022 damaged three of the four strings of the pipeline system, which carried Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The blasts cut that route at a moment when Europe was already facing an energy crisis, and the question of who was responsible has been disputed ever since.
Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany. The allegations against him are made by prosecutors and have not yet been tested in full at trial. He is the defendant in a criminal trial, and the court will hear the evidence before reaching any verdict.
What happens next
The trial continues in Hamburg, where the court will work through the prosecution's case and the defence's response. Europe Unfolded will follow the proceedings as they continue, and will report what the court hears, not what either side claims outside it.
Updates & corrections
Published 27 October 2026.
No updates or corrections have been made to this article since publication.
Sources
- ANews (Reuters), 27 October 2026, on the court's ruling and the rejected secrecy bid: anews.com.tr
- Kyiv Post, 27 October 2026, on the proceedings and the charges: kyivpost.com
- Pollar News, 27 October 2026, on the trial continuing: pollar.news