Nord Stream sabotage trial opens in Germany

The first trial of a defendant accused of the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines opened Wednesday at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, Germany.

The defendant, identified as Ukrainian national Serhii K., is a former member of the Ukrainian military forces suspected of acting as a co-perpetrator in a war crime of attacking civilian targets on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities.

Serhii K. allegedly headed a sabotage group that damaged the undersea pipelines in the Baltic Sea. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and was later transferred to Germany.

After the federal prosecutor read out the indictment, Serhii K. declined to comment. His defense lawyer later issued a statement arguing the defendant was a scapegoat, alleging political forces were pulling strings behind the scenes and seeking to turn the trial into a political farce.

The German terminal of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines lies in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Given the geographical proximity between Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Hamburg, and Hamburg's superior conditions and capacity for multi-party coordination, the two states struck an agreement to hold the trial in Hamburg, according to Marayke Frantzen, a spokesperson for the Hamburg Regional Court.

Frantzen added there is no reliable timeline for how long the trial will run. Given the voluminous case files and international dimensions of the case, court proceedings are expected to extend into 2027, and no definite end date can be foreseen for now. Sixteen trial dates have been scheduled so far.

Nord Stream sabotage trial opens in Germany

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with French President's Diplomatic Adviser Emmanuel Bonne in Beijing on Tuesday.

The two sides exchanged views on practical economic and trade cooperation between China and France, and economic and trade relations between China and the European Union (EU).

He, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that there is broad room for improvement in China-France economic and trade cooperation.

He added that China is willing to continue to work with France to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen practical cooperation in all economic fields and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

Noting that China and the EU are important economic and trade partners, He said that China is willing to continue dialogue with the EU in the economic and trade field to inject more stability and positive energy into the development of China-EU economic and trade relations.

Bonne said that France attaches great importance to economic cooperation with China and is willing to work with China to continuously achieve positive results in the EU-China trade and investment consultations, and maintain the stable development of economic and trade relations between the two sides.

Chinese vice premier meets French president's diplomatic adviser