Zelensky says itʼs too early to comment on Ukrainian Kuznetsovʼs accusations in the “Nord Stream” case

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that it is too early to comment on the accusations of Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov in the “Nord Stream” case.

Zelensky said this at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday.

According to him, Ukraine has not yet officially received all the details.

“When we receive more details, we will probably be able to react,” the president said. Before that, Zelensky’s only reaction to the situation was the words that it was not Ukraine that blew up the Potoks and that he did not give such an order.

In the afternoon, Babel learned that German prosecutors had indicted Kuznetsov. Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk stated that the indictment consists of 136 pages and the defense still needs time to familiarize itself with it.

At the same time, German publications ARD and Die Zeit write that the investigation claims that Kuznetsov was in charge of the sailing yacht from which the “Nord Stream” explosion was carried out, as well as seven other people involved in it.

The investigation also found evidence on his mobile phone that points to his involvement in the bombing. According to the investigation, while Kuznetsov was in prison in Italy, he spoke on the phone with relatives and acquaintances about the bombing.

The Ukrainian is accused of attacking energy infrastructure, which caused an explosion and destruction — a war crime under international law.

“Nord Stream” explosions

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 act Zhuravlyov was accused of “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 favor 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.

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