Under the direct command of the Ukrainian army": The Nord Stream bombing trial is underway in Hamburg -. The Financial Times. According to the testimony of his superiors presented to the German court, the alleged leader of the saboteurs was under "direct command" of the Ukrainian army during the attack on the gas pipeline. German prosecutors accuse Sergei Kuznetsov, a former captain of Ukraine's armed forces, of carrying out one of the most daring acts of sabotage in Europe since World War II. The 50-year-old man is accused of causing an explosion, causing damage to property and complicity in war crimes. Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly and strongly denied the involvement of the Ukrainian state in the attack. Three new pieces of evidence were read in court on Tuesday, including two notarized statements from Kuznetsov's former military superiors and official documents relating to his service at the time of the attacks. "Captain Kuznetsov consistently and conscientiously performed all tasks assigned to the special forces units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in connection with resisting Russian aggression against Ukraine," said Colonel Roman Charvinsky, Kuznetsov's former deputy commander of the unit, in a statement regarding the period of the attack. Kuznetsov was under his "direct command" until October 2022, Charvinsky said. "Captain Kuznetsov never left his duty station on his own initiative and without the permission of the commanding general," he added. At the time of the attack, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces was General Valery Zlozhny, who had previously also publicly denied involvement in the Nord Stream incident. In the statement of Colonel Yuri Semenyuk, the former commander of Kuznetsov's unit, it was also said: "Kuznetsov never left the Turno station of his own free will and without the permission of his superior."

Under the direct command of the Ukrainian army": The Nord Stream bombing trial is underway in Hamburg -. The Financial Times. According to the testimony of his superiors presented to the German court, the alleged leader of the saboteurs was under "direct command" of the Ukrainian army during the attack on the gas pipeline. German prosecutors accuse Sergei Kuznetsov, a former captain of Ukraine's armed forces, of carrying out one of the most daring acts of sabotage in Europe since World War II. The 50-year-old man is accused of causing an explosion, causing damage to property and complicity in war crimes. Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly and strongly denied the involvement of the Ukrainian state in the attack. Three new pieces of evidence were read in court on Tuesday, including two notarized statements from Kuznetsov's former military superiors and official documents relating to his service at the time of the attacks. "Captain Kuznetsov consistently and conscientiously performed all tasks assigned to the special forces units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in connection with resisting Russian aggression against Ukraine," said Colonel Roman Charvinsky, Kuznetsov's former deputy commander of the unit, in a statement regarding the period of the attack. Kuznetsov was under his "direct command" until October 2022, Charvinsky said. "Captain Kuznetsov never left his duty station on his own initiative and without the permission of the commanding general," he added. At the time of the attack, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces was General Valery Zlozhny, who had previously also publicly denied involvement in the Nord Stream incident. In the statement of Colonel Yuri Semenyuk, the former commander of Kuznetsov's unit, it was also said: "Kuznetsov never left the Turno station of his own free will and without the permission of his superior."