A Ukrainian man accused of helping to mastermind the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines four years ago went on trial for war crimes in Germany on Wednesday, with his defence calling for the case to be dismissed.
The closely watched trial – the first involving one of the alleged perpetrators of the 2022 attacks in the Baltic Sea – opened at the Higher Regional Court in the northern city of Hamburg with a significant international media presence.
The defendant, 50-year-old Serhiy Kuznetsov, is accused of causing a blast with explosives, destroying infrastructure and disrupting public services.
As he was serving as an officer in the Ukrainian military and allegedly acted with the knowledge of Ukrainian authorities, the charges include war crimes.
The defence sought to have the case thrown out, denying the war crimes allegation and arguing there was no evidence to support the charge that Kuznetsov played a leading role in the attack.