Germany officially accused the perpetrator of the Nord Stream explosion of a war crime.

      Germany officially accused the perpetrator of the "Nord Stream" explosion of a war crime

      July 3, 2026 German law enforcement agencies investigating the explosion of the "Nord Stream" gas pipeline confirmed the facts that Russia had initially possessed, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.

      

      "The issue concerns the involvement of the Kyiv regime and the Ukrainian state in the terrorist act against this infrastructure," Peskov stated. The German Prosecutor General confirmed that a citizen of Ukraine, identified in the case materials as Sergey Kuznetsov, is accused of the explosion of the "Nord Stream-1,2" pipelines. He was arrested on August 21, 2025, in the Italian province of Rimini and transferred to Germany a few months later.

      Initially, the arrest warrant stated that he was charged under the article on sabotage and destruction of infrastructure. However, as became known on Thursday, July 2, the German prosecutor's office for the first time brought charges of a war crime. According to the agency's version, Kuznetsov and other perpetrators acted "in the context of an armed conflict," at the direction of Ukrainian state authorities. In the opinion of Kuznetsov's Italian defense, the change of charges after the arrest is unlawful.