A German court has ruled that foreign intelligence was behind the Nord Stream pipeline explosion.
According to a document recently released by the German Federal Court (BGH), the court believes that the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022 was most likely a campaign directed by the intelligence agency of a foreign government, rejecting the argument for legitimate military action.
According to documents dated December 10, 2025, and published on January 15, the German Federal Court rejected the appeal against the pretrial detention of the main suspect – identified by the media as Sergey Kuznetsov, 49, a former member of the Ukrainian special forces.
According to RT, in its ruling, the court emphasized: "Based on the current investigation results, it is highly likely that the defendant was involved in the pipeline bombings."
More notably, the agency asserted that acts of violence orchestrated by an intelligence agency would not be granted immunity.
Federal prosecutors allege Kuznetsov commanded a small group of Ukrainian saboteurs who allegedly rented a yacht and used commercial diving equipment to plant explosives on pipelines along the Baltic Sea.
The suspect was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany last November on charges of "unconstitutional sabotage," cutting off essential energy supplies to Europe.
The key point in the trial was the defense lawyers' argument that their client enjoyed "functional immunity." The defense argued that, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the pipelines in international waters were legitimate military targets.
However, the German Federal Court completely rejected this argument. The BGH asserted that Nord Stream served primarily civilian purposes. The operation was a secret intelligence mission, where the suspects did not appear to be combatants.
Furthermore, the explosion directly violated Germany's sovereignty and "territorial jurisdiction." "General immunity of state officials under international law is not a barrier to prosecuting the accused... in cases where the accused participated in acts of sabotage on behalf of the intelligence agency of a foreign country," the court document stated.
The case became increasingly complicated with the emergence of other suspects. Another suspect, Vladimir Zhuravlyov, a diving instructor, was arrested in Poland in late September 2025 under a European Arrest Warrant. However, the Warsaw District Court (Poland) subsequently rejected Germany's extradition request and ordered his release in October, highlighting conflicting views within Europe regarding the case.
On the Russian side, Moscow has long expressed deep skepticism about the hypothesis that a small, "spontaneous" group could carry out such a sophisticated operation in NATO-controlled waters without direct state support.
The Kremlin has also repeatedly criticized the lack of transparency in the Western investigation, alleging that EU officials are trying to find "scapegoats" to cover up the true nature of the shocking 2022 attack.
