German investigators believe that the Ukrainian citizen Sergey K., detained in Italy, was the coordinator of the sabotage on the ‘Nord Stream’ and ‘Nord Stream 2’ gas pipelines that occurred in September 2022. The arrest warrant, which journalists have seen, states that Sergey K. led a group of six to seven individuals, including a skipper, divers, and an explosives expert.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Operation and Suspects
According to the investigation, the group members approached the area near the island of Bornholm on the yacht ‘Andromeda’, where they planted at least four explosive devices at a depth of 70-80 meters, each weighing between 14 and 27 kilograms. The explosives used a mixture of hexogen and octogen with a delayed action. After completing the operation, Sergey K. left the yacht at the port of Vik on the island of Rügen and traveled to Ukraine, while the other participants returned the vessel to the port of Hoe-Dune near Rostock.
The detained individual did not admit guilt during the court hearing. German law enforcement officials have not disclosed his full name, although he is referred to in the press as Sergey Kuznetsov. The Wall Street Journal reports that he is a retired captain of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine. It is also noted that Sergey Kuznetsov served in a special unit that defended Kyiv at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“The ‘Nord Stream 1’ and ‘Nord Stream 2’ pipelines, which ran from Russia to Germany, were sabotaged on the night of September 26, 2022, in the area of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. At that time, the pipelines were not operational; ‘Nord Stream 2’ had not been put into operation before the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, and ‘Nord Stream 1’ had temporarily ceased gas flow.”
The Investigation Continues
The German investigative team has identified several other suspects involved in the sabotage, including current and former Ukrainian military personnel. In addition to Sergey K., an arrest warrant has been issued for Vladimir Zhuravlyov, who lived in Poland and worked as a diving instructor. It is reported that he left for Ukraine as the Polish authorities did not respond to the request for his detention.
Officially, the German prosecutor’s office has not put forward any theories regarding the masterminds behind the pipeline explosions. However, Western media have repeatedly reported that the organizers may have been individuals connected to Ukrainian intelligence services. According to journalists, in May 2022, a group of Ukrainian military initiated an operation that was initially approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky, but later, under pressure from the CIA, he ordered to halt the preparations. Chief of the General Staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi reportedly ignored this directive. The Ukrainian side denies any involvement in organizing the sabotage.
In November 2024, the German Prosecutor’s Office reported the identification of two key suspects, but details remain classified due to the interests of the investigation. The agency emphasized that this incident is considered a serious attack on the country’s energy infrastructure, regardless of the political motives of the perpetrators.
As of 2025, the ‘Nord Stream’ pipelines are under sanctions from the European Union. The EU views them as a potential tool for Russia to exert influence on European energy markets.