Nearly four years after mysterious underwater explosions severed the Nord Stream pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea, Germany has finally put a name to the operation. Or at least, half a name.
German federal prosecutors filed an indictment on July 1, 2026, charging a 50-year-old Ukrainian national identified only as Serhii K. with complicity in war crimes, sabotage, and destruction related to the September 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The charges represent the first criminal prosecution arising from one of the most consequential acts of infrastructure sabotage in modern European history.
The case against Serhii K.
According to the indictment, Serhii K. led a seven-person team that used a sailing yacht called the Andromeda to carry out the attacks. The team allegedly deployed explosive charges weighing between 14 and 27 kilograms, composed of RDX and HMX, military-grade explosives that are not exactly available at your local hardware store.
The explosions on September 26, 2022, damaged three of four Nord Stream pipelines, rendering them completely inoperable.
