Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor has formally accused Ukrainian authorities of ordering the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines.
The development represents a significant escalation in the long-running investigation into the 2022 explosions that severed the undersea lines connecting Russia to Germany.
The accusation shifts the focus of the probe from individual actors to state-level direction.
While previous reports indicated that German prosecutors had charged a Ukrainian national with being an accomplice to war crimes and causing explosions, this latest step attributes the orders directly to the Ukrainian government.
The indictment targets a former Ukrainian soldier, marking the first criminal charges filed in connection with the sabotage.
The Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed in September 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.