BERLIN, January 15. /TASS/. Germany's Federal Court of Justice believes that the explosions that hit the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines were "highly likely" ordered by a foreign country, specifically Ukraine, Der Spiegel reports.

According to the media outlet, these findings are contained in the court’s December 10 ruling, published on Thursday. The document makes it clear that the court means Ukraine, Der Spiegel notes. The ruling came in response to an appeal filed by the defense team of Ukrainian national Sergey K., who was detained in Italy last year and is currently in custody in Germany.

Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled that Sergey K. should remain in custody, Der Spiegel adds. According to the media outlet, he is charged with "unconstitutional sabotage, conspiracy to cause an explosion, and destruction of infrastructure." When detained in Italy, the Ukrainian denied involvement in the explosions. His lawyers told Germany's Federal Court of Justice later that regardless of his involvement in the act, alleged perpetrators should be granted so-called functional immunity.

However, Der Spiegel notes that Germany rejected the defense team’s arguments and the Federal Court of Justice denied him immunity. The court pointed out that the pipelines "were not a legitimate military target as they had largely served civilian purposes." "The act affected the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany because the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines ended in Germany and were designed to supply the country with gas," the court concluded.

The court’s ruling also confirms German media reports about the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. Der Spiegel points out that according to the document, the saboteurs must have used the sailing yacht Andromeda, chartered in the German city of Rostock, to carry out the operation. Divers planted several explosive devices onto the pipelines on the seabed. Investigators discovered traces of the hexogen and octogen explosives aboard the yacht after the blasts. Information about the suspects and their use of forged documents came from various sources, including the Polish border service.

The explosions on September 26, 2022, caused unprecedented damage to three lines of the Nord Stream and the yet-to-be-commissioned Nord Stream 2. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a case, citing acts of international terrorism.

On August 27, 2025, ARD television reported, citing a joint probe conducted by Die Zeit and Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspapers, that some crew members of the sailing yacht Andromeda, presumably used for the sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, "clearly had ties" with Ukraine’s secret services or military. On August 21, news came that Sergey K., a Ukrainian citizen, had been detained in Italy on suspicion of involvement in the pipeline explosions. According to the German prosecution authorities, the sabotage group comprised a skipper, a coordinator, an explosives expert, and four divers, who arrived at the intended crime scene in the Baltic Sea aboard the yacht Andromeda from the German city of Rostock.