New details of the case
After his extradition to Germany in November last year, Serhiy Kuznetsov was placed in a block for terrorists. According to his Ukrainian lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk, these conditions are harsher than they were in Italy.
Kuznetsov says that the German prison staff treats him with contempt, while those from other countries treat him a little better. He is poorly fed. He has lost 15-20 kilograms. He sees his family once a month, for no more than two hours. Any correspondence is prohibited. Katerynchuk says that in this way the investigation is trying to force Kuznetsov to make a deal and plead guilty, he refuses.
In December 2025, Kuznetsovʼs lawyers tried to appeal the warrant for his arrest. The case reached the Supreme Federal Court of Germany. The court rejected the claim and at the same time noted that it considered “Nord Stream” to be civilian infrastructure located in neutral waters and therefore could not be a legitimate military target for Ukraine.
This contradicts the position of the defense, which insists that Ukraine had the right to strike at the “Streams”, which Russia used for energy blackmail of Europe.
In addition, the Russian “Gazprom”, the owner of the gas pipelines, created and financed the military units “Fakel”, “Potok” and “Plamya”, which fought in Ukraine. Read more about the defenseʼs arguments here.
Serhiy Kuznetsov is being held in prison in Hamburg.
З архіву Миколи Катеринчука
In the spring, the German Federal Court also decided that Kuznetsov had enough three defense attorneys and removed the state attorney — the one paid for by Germany — from the case. The judge explained this decision by saying that when a private defense attorney is working on the case, there is no need for a state attorney.
“The defendant was probably acting on behalf of a foreign state, in whose service he works, so he will probably receive support from third parties to finance his defense,” the judge noted.
Kuznetsovʼs lawyers are forbidden to reveal the details of the case and talk about what evidence the investigation has. From what is possible, Mykola Katerynchuk says that the Germans do not have direct evidence of Kuznetsovʼs guilt. For example, using DNA, the investigation was unable to confirm that Kuznetsov was on the yacht from which the divers who blew up the "Streams" allegedly dived. It was DNA that German law enforcement officers referred to when they demanded that Italy extradite Kuznetsov.
"It turned out that they pushed everything they could into it, and Serhiy was detained and extradited, in fact, on assumptions," says Katerynchuk.
After the extradition, the Germans asked the court to allow a DNA examination, and on the second attempt, the court allowed it. In the end, Kuznetsovʼs DNA did not match the samples that the investigation found on the yacht "Andromeda" — the same one from which the group of saboteurs allegedly worked.
The yacht "Andromeda", on which, according to German investigators, a group led by Kuznetsov reached the gas pipelines and planted explosives at a depth of 70-80 meters.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
A German lawyer who knows the circumstances of the case and asks not to be named says: despite the lack of direct evidence, if the investigation gathers enough indirect evidence, the court may side with the prosecution.
And Katerynchuk does not rule out that the case may be reclassified as a war crime, because at the time of the explosion Kuznetsov was a military man. In that case, he could face 5 years.
How the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany is fanning the campaign against Ukraine
In addition to Kuznetsovʼs own fate, this case is also about big money. If the former military man is found guilty, Russia and Germany could demand that Ukraine compensate for the losses from the “Streams” explosion. Katerynchuk says that Russia alone estimates its losses at €140-170 billion.
In early 2026, the issue of compensation began to be promoted in Germany itself by the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany party. The party’s co-chair Alice Weidel stated that she would demand compensation for the destroyed “Nord Stream”:
“I can say what we will do when we come to power. We will demand compensation. Let the Ukrainians, [Volodymyr] Zelensky, simply pay for the destruction of our pipeline.”
Co-chair of the Alternative for Germany party Alice Weidel takes a pro-Russian position and has already stated that Ukraine must compensate Germany for the damage caused by the “Streams” explosion and return the money that Berlin gave to Kyiv to fight Russia.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Part of the anti-Ukrainian campaign was a civil lawsuit filed by an unknown German pensioner against Kuznetsov. According to the plaintiff, Kuznetsov is to blame for the fact that gas tariffs in Germany have increased by €112 per month. He demands that the Ukrainian compensate him €3 000.
Mykola Katerynchuk and a German lawyer, with whom Babel spoke, assume that the Alternative for Germany, that is, Russia, is also behind this lawsuit. However, the German lawyer believes that this lawsuit will have no prospects, because “Nord Stream” stopped transporting gas to Germany even before they were detonated.
What does Ukraine say about the case?
The short answer is nothing. The only official reaction was President Zelenskyʼs statement that it was not Ukraine that blew up the “Streams” and that he did not give such an order.
The only representative of the authorities who took care of Kuznetsovʼs fate was the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets: he publicly said that Italy and Germany were violating the rights of a Ukrainian, his representative visited Serhiy in Italy — after that, the living conditions in prison improved slightly. In Germany, this was no longer possible.
According to Babelʼs sources in government circles, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office could have turned the tide of the case at the very beginning. They were ready to initiate an investigation into the “Streams” bombing. The logic was simple: Ukraine did not do this, but if there are suspicions, then who else but Ukraine should investigate it?
This thesis was supposed to be the reason for requesting Kuznetsovʼs extradition. A German lawyer, whom Babel spoke with, says that the Italians and Germans could have agreed to the extradition. However, for reasons unknown to us, the Prosecutorʼs General Office abandoned this idea. The chance was wasted.
Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets met with Kuznetsovʼs wife Halyna in November 2025. His letter to the Italian Ministry of Justice was delivered by Counselor Oleksandr Horodetsky. He also participated in a rally in support of Kuznetsov in Italy.
Омбудсман Лубінець Дмитро / Telegram
Arbitration in the UK and another € 580 million
On April 16, 2026, a trial began in the High Court of London on the claim of “Nord Stream” (AG) against Lloydʼs and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC, the insurers of both “Streams”. “Nord Stream” AG is demanding that the insured pay out €580 million in insurance, of which €72 million for allegedly lost natural gas. Insurance experts say that the latter amount is exaggerated. Lloydʼs and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC insist that they should not pay out money because the explosion is not an insured event, but a military risk that is not covered by insurance.
The insurersʼ lawyer Simon Salcedo stated that only people associated with Ukraine, Russia or the United States, or with "sub-state entities" from Ukraine with the help of the state, could have blown up the “Streams”. Representatives of “Nord Stream”, on the contrary, believe that this explosion could have been committed by non-state structures or people associated with them.
“Nord Stream” also insists that both pipelines are not located in the conflict zone between Russia and Ukraine and are not military targets. The trial is expected to last five weeks, but Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk believes that the arbitration will wait for the courtʼs decision in Serhiyʼs case.
Former politician and now lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk served in the same unit with Serhiy Kuznetsov from the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and is now involved in his defense.
What do people know and say about Kuznetsov in Germany?
In April 2026, two books were published in Germany at once, dedicated to the “Nord Stream” detonation. The Wall Street Journal journalist Bojan Panchevski wrote the book "The Detonation of Nord Stream", and German authors Ulrich Thiele and Oliver Schrem published their "Explosion". In both books, the authors tell similar stories: the “Streams” were detonated by Ukrainians, and President Volodymyr Zelensky did not know about these plans.
At the beginning, the authors were helped by American intelligence, but then stepped aside. The authors reconstruct the detonation and how Germany then investigated the case.
Both books criticize the German authorities, which agreed to the construction of the Streams despite the fact that Russia had already started a war with Ukraine and occupied Crimea.
Both books caused a resonance — they are discussed in the German media, and the authors regularly give interviews.
On the other hand, neither Kuznetsov nor Ukraine have a position anywhere. Even when the investigation did not find Serhiyʼs DNA on the yacht, the media did not write about it.