Investigators believe a “state” actor ordered Ukrainian saboteurs to destroy the pipelines, according to a court document
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has stated that the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines was likely an “intelligence service” operation ordered by a foreign government, according to a ruling that ordered the primary suspect to remain in custody.
The court document, dated December 10 and published on Thursday, rejects an appeal against the pre-trial detention of the 49-year-old suspect, identified by media as former Ukrainian special forces member Sergey Kuznetsov.
“As the investigation currently stands, it was highly likely that the accused was involved in the pipeline bombings,” the court wrote, adding that “immunity does not apply to acts of violence controlled by an intelligence service.”
The suspect is alleged to have led a small team of Ukrainian saboteurs that rented a yacht and used commercial diving gear to plant explosives on the Baltic Sea pipelines. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November. Federal prosecutors accuse him of “anti-constitutional sabotage” for severing a critical energy supply route.
The defense had argued for “functional immunity,” claiming that within the context of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the pipelines in international waters constituted a legitimate military target.
The BGH firmly rejected this, ruling that Nord Stream served primarily civilian purposes. The court noted the operation appeared to be a covert intelligence mission where the suspects were not identifiable as combatants, and that Germany’s sovereignty and “territorial jurisdiction” were affected.
“The general functional immunity of public officials resulting from sovereign immunity under international law poses no obstacle to the accused Ukrainian’s prosecution… in the event that he participated in the act of sabotage on behalf of a foreign state’s intelligence service,” the court wrote.
Another suspect in the case, identified as diving instructor Vladimir Zhuravlyov, was detained in Poland in late September under a European Arrest Warrant. However, in October, a Warsaw District Court rejected a German extradition request and ordered his release.
Russia has expressed deep skepticism that a small, rogue group could execute such a sophisticated operation in NATO-controlled waters without direct state assistance. Moscow has also criticized a lack of transparency, accusing EU officials of using private “scapegoats” to cover up the true circumstances of the 2022 attacks.
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