The trial of a former Ukrainian army captain accused of organising and taking part in the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines has begun in Germany, Dagens Nyheter reports. The 49-year-old, identified in the case as "Serhii K", is expected to remain silent throughout the proceedings. His defence team's position is that he was on active military duty at the time of the operation, which means he has no authority to disclose military secrets, according to Dagens Nyheter. The charges against him include anti-constitutional sabotage, causing explosions, and war crimes targeting civilian infrastructure. ## Why it matters The case concerns one of the most destructive acts of sabotage in Europe since the Second World War, and it has shaped how European governments think about the security of undersea energy links. The pipelines were built to carry Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing transit countries, and their destruction removed a major piece of energy infrastructure from the Baltic seabed. For Germany, the trial is also a test of whether its investigators can prove a case that has been politically charged from the start. In the weeks after the blasts, suspicion fell heavily on Russia. Dagens Nyheter reports that German forensic work aboard a chartered yacht instead pointed investigators toward Ukraine. ## How the plan is alleged to have come together The account of how the operation was set in motion comes largely from reporting by the Wall Street Journal, which Dagens Nyheter cites. According to that reporting, a group of senior Ukrainian military officers, security service personnel and business figures met somewhere in Ukraine on a wet evening in May 2022 to celebrate the country's success in pushing back the Russian invasion. Under the influence of alcohol and patriotic enthusiasm, someone at the gathering proposed drawing up lists of possible future targets, with the aim of inflicting as much damage as possible on Russian economic infrastructure. Bridges, oil pipelines, ports and tankers were added to the list, along with Nord Stream 1 and 2. The task was assigned to "Serhii K", described as a former army captain and a veteran of the SBU security service who had distinguished himself in the defence of Kyiv. According to Bojan Pancevski, the Wall Street Journal correspondent who wrote the book *The Nord Stream Conspiracy*, the commanders involved made sure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was informed before the plans were carried out. Zelenskyy is said to have given verbal approval, with no written documents left behind to avoid creating a paper trail. Dagens Nyheter describes the pipelines as an ideal target for Ukraine. They had cost Russia 20 billion dollars, and they promised both long-term revenue for Moscow and dependence on Russian gas for Germany and other northern European countries, which in turn would have given Russia substantial leverage over Europe. The BBC, which has spoken to several Ukrainians with knowledge of the matter, notes that Ukraine, the United States and Poland all opposed the project. ## The operation and the arrest According to the reporting cited by Dagens Nyheter, the operation unfolded in September 2022. The man now on trial, two other soldiers and four deep-sea divers met in Rostock, where they chartered the sailing yacht Andromeda. On paper they looked like a group of friends on a leisure trip. In reality, they carried four timed explosive charges made with high-performance explosives, intended for the pipelines lying at a depth of about 80 metres. The first detonation occurred at 02:03 on the night of 26 September, followed by two more. Vast quantities of natural gas soon made the surface of the Baltic Sea appear to be boiling. The suspected saboteurs quietly returned to Ukraine, while the world turned suspicious eyes on Russia, reasoning that few other states would have the capacity for such an advanced operation. German forensic specialists found DNA traces aboard the yacht that pointed in a different direction, toward Ukraine. As investigators assembled the case, "Serhii K" travelled internationally, apparently without concern. A copy of his genuine passport reviewed by the BBC contained more than two dozen stamps from countries including France, Spain and Canada, all dated after the attacks. According to the indictment, he entered Germany before the sabotage on a false passport, probably issued by Ukraine's security service. Dagens Nyheter reports that his ability to travel afterwards on his real passport likely convinced him everything was fine — that he had completed his mission and stayed under the radar. That assessment proved wrong. By the time his wife booked the couple into La Pescaccia, a luxury resort near Rimini in Italy, he had been wanted internationally by Germany for some time. The BBC reports that he appeared relaxed as he checked in, unaware that Italian carabinieri were watching him and closing in. He was detained in the reception area wearing shorts, sandals and a dark baseball cap, helping himself from a bowl of complimentary snacks. Less than a month later, an Italian court approved a German extradition request. By that point, in October 2022, five more people were suspected of involvement. An arrest warrant was issued in absentia for a diving instructor, who has managed to stay out of reach since then. ## A second suspect and the state of the evidence The indictment against "Serhii K" was filed in early July this year, and German media assess the evidence against him as strong, according to Dagens Nyheter. A second man has been held in Croatia since August. He appears on Germany's list of people involved in the attack and is the only person named apart from "Serhii K". Described as a highly skilled deep-sea diver, he was arrested during the filming of a movie that, in an ironic twist, was about the sabotage itself. He denies the charges. ## Background on the pipelines Nord Stream 1, inaugurated in 2011, is co-owned by several European energy companies, with the Russian gas giant Gazprom holding a 51 percent stake. Nord Stream 2, which was never put into service because of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, is owned by a company under Gazprom's complete control. The lines run from Russia — Nord Stream 1 from Vyborg and Nord Stream 2 from Ust-Luga — along the bottom of the Baltic Sea south of Finland, east of Gotland and past Bornholm to Greifswald in northern Germany. On 26 September 2022, four leaks were discovered on the pipelines. Unusual seismic activity was recorded in the area twice that day, first at 02:03 in the night and again at 19:03. What to watch next: how the court handles the defence's argument that active military service shields the accused from testifying, and whether German prosecutors bring the remaining suspects to trial.