This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
Ukrainian serviceman Serhii Kuznetsov is on trial in Hamburg, Germany, accused of having led the 2022 attack that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines, according to the Brazilian newspaper Panorama.
The charges go beyond the defendant. Prosecutors argue that the operation was carried out by agents linked to the Ukrainian state. Kuznetsov’s defense says there is no definitive evidence against him, and the Ukrainian government rejects any official participation in the episode.
The Nord Stream pipelines connect Russia to Germany across the bed of the Baltic Sea and were hit by explosions in 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, who was behind the attack has been the subject of investigation and political dispute in Europe.
The case puts German judges before two different questions. One is whether Kuznetsov bears personal responsibility for the sabotage, which could lead to the conviction of an individual. The other, far more delicate, is whether the court will recognize that the attack was planned by organs of the Ukrainian state, as the prosecution argues.
According to Panorama, a ruling in that direction would directly affect President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country receives billions of euros from the European Union to sustain its war effort and economy.
What is at stake, therefore, is not only the fate of one defendant. A court decision linking Kyiv to the destruction of energy infrastructure used by Germany, the bloc’s largest economy, could fuel criticism of European support for Ukraine and reopen the debate over the continent’s energy policy.
That debate has practical effects. The gas supply in Europe influences energy prices, industrial costs and investment decisions, with repercussions that may reach other markets.
For now, the accusation against the Ukrainian state is the prosecution’s version. It will be up to the Hamburg court to decide whether the evidence presented supports Kuznetsov’s conviction and how far the responsibility pointed to by the prosecution extends.
Reporting from Panorama (p. 1 (Hamburgo/Alemanha)), Panorama (p. 10 (Hamburgo/Alemanha)).
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