Hamburg court continues trial of Ukrainian officer over Nord Stream sabotage

Court ruling on continuation of proceedings

The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg ruled to refuse the closure of the criminal case involving Ukrainian officer Kuznetsov. The suspect is accused of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. The defence lawyers insisted on terminating the proceedings, arguing that their client was on active military service at the time the sabotage was committed. However, the judge did not support this position, so the trial will continue.

Suspect's position and Ukrainian Armed Forces documents

Kuznetsov himself refused to testify in court. He justified his refusal by the possibility of disclosing service secrets. During the hearing, the court read letters from Ukrainian military personnel Roman Chervinskyi and Yuri Semenyuk. These documents stated that in the summer and autumn of 2022, Kuznetsov was under the direct command of Chervinskyi as part of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was also noted that the suspect had signed an undertaking not to disclose classified information.

Reaction from military leadership and the prosecution

Colonel Roman Chervinskyi clearly formulated his position in his letter: "I do not give him (Kuznetsov) permission to disclose information relating to his service under my command" (Я не даю йому (Кузнєцову) дозволу розголошувати інформацію, яка стосується його служби під моїм командуванням).

Prosecutors noted that the existence of such restrictions on disclosing information does not deprive the accused of their legal right to a defence. Taking this into account, the court refused to grant the defence's motion to close the case.