Hamburg, Germany - Oct 14, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of exterior of Hamburg Regional Court

FILE: Location Unknown - Sept 29, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Aerial shots of waters, islands along Nord Stream gas pipelines

FILE: Sabetta, Yamal Peninsula, Russia - Aug 9, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of facilities at gas field

FILE: Lubmin City, Germany - Oct 5, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of painting showing map of Nord Stream 2 pipeline on wall
5. Various of surrounding areas of Nord Stream gas receiving terminals

The first trial of a defendant accused of the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines opened Wednesday at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, Germany.

The defendant, identified as Ukrainian national Serhii K., is a former member of the Ukrainian military forces suspected of acting as a co-perpetrator in a war crime of attacking civilian targets on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities.

Serhii K. allegedly headed a sabotage group that damaged the undersea pipelines in the Baltic Sea. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and was later transferred to Germany.

After the federal prosecutor read out the indictment, Serhii K. declined to comment. His defense lawyer later issued a statement arguing the defendant was a scapegoat, alleging political forces were pulling strings behind the scenes and seeking to turn the trial into a political farce.

The German terminal of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines lies in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Given the geographical proximity between Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg, and Hamburg's superior conditions and capacity for multi-party coordination, the two states struck an agreement to hold the trial in Hamburg, according to Marayke Frantzen, a spokesperson for the Hamburg Regional Court.

Frantzen added there is no reliable timeline for how long the trial will run. Given the voluminous case files and international dimensions of the case, court proceedings are expected to extend into 2027, and no definite end date can be foreseen for now. Sixteen trial dates have been scheduled so far.