Ukrainian ex-officer faces Hamburg trial over 2022 Nord Stream blasts
What's next: The first public hearing of the sabotage case is expected to run into February and test Germany's ties with Kyiv.
A Ukrainian former military officer went on trial in Hamburg on Wednesday, accused of organizing the September 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. German prosecutors say Serhii K. led a covert team of divers, a boat captain and an explosives expert to destroy the links that once carried large volumes of Russian gas to Germany. He denies involvement. The case is the first trial tied to the blasts and follows his arrest in Italy last year under a German warrant. Another suspect has been arrested in Croatia, while a Polish court previously rejected Germany's extradition bid for a different Ukrainian suspect.