“Nord Stream” blowing up. A new “exotic” lawsuit has been filed in Germany against Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov due to rising gas prices

A new "exotic" lawsuit was filed in Germany against Ukrainian military man Serhiy Kuznetsov and the qualification of the “Nord Stream” case was changed.

This was reported to Babel by Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk.

Previously, the German prosecutorʼs office suspected Kuznetsov of three articles of the Criminal Code: sabotage directed against constitutional foundations; committing an explosion; destruction of construction structures, namely bridges, dams, railways, etc.

Now, the charges remain "committing an explosion" and "destruction of buildings" and the qualification under Article 316b of the German Criminal Code has been added — "disturbance of the work of public utilities", since both gas pipelines were put out of service and deprived of their intended purpose — transporting gas from Russia to Germany. But according to Katerynchuk, the qualification may change.

"In addition, an exotic lawsuit has appeared from one pensioner who is complaining about Serhiy. The plaintiff says that due to Kuznetsovʼs actions, gas tariffs have increased by €112 per month. He demands that Serhiy pay €3 000," says Katerynchuk.

He does not rule out that pro-Russian political forces in Germany, such as the AfD ("Alternative for Germany"), may be behind this lawsuit.

Katerynchuk also reported that despite a court order, German law enforcement officers took DNA samples from Serhiy. The lawyers insist that the samples were taken illegally and without Kuznetsovʼs consent. The lawyers also asked the investigation for the results of the examination, but have not yet received a response.

“Nord Stream” explosions and Serhiy Kuznetsov

On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks. Only one of the four strands of the pipeline remained intact.

The US, UK and EU governments have declared a deliberate sabotage. Russia believes that the US and its allies are interested in the bombings. Western and Russian media have written about different versions — from sabotage by the Russians themselves to the involvement of Ukraine.

On August 26, 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the bombing. Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained in Italy and suspected of involvement in the sabotage, denies the charges. An Italian court allowed his extradition to Germany.

On October 27, a court in Bologna ordered the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany. The defense appealed to the Italian Supreme Court. That same month, a Polish court refused to extradite another detainee in the case Volodymyr Zhuravlyov to Germany. The court ruled that Germany had provided insufficient evidence and that the alleged act “was committed in the context of the criminal and genocidal war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine since 2014”.

On November 19, the Italian Supreme Court upheld the decision to extradite Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany. In particular, the court found no evidence in favour of Kuznetsovʼs functional immunity as a Ukrainian military officer. One of the reasons was that no Ukrainian authority officially recognized the sabotage of “Nord Stream” as a military operation.

In November, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets wrote a letter to the Italian court, in which he admitted for the first time on behalf of the state that at the time of the explosions at “Nord Stream”, Kuznetsov was serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On November 27, Kuznetsov was extradited from Italy to Germany. The next day, he was arrested. Later, Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk told Babel that the Ukrainian was treated worse in a German prison than in an Italian one.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.