The district court in Hamburg rejected the defense request of Sergei Kuznetsov to end the trial in the case of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion, and recognized it as unfounded. In July, Kuznetsov admitted and stated that at the time of the crime he was a member of the Ukrainian army and worked in the security service of Ukraine.
His lawyers said that the obligations of military secrecy prevented the accused from giving his full testimony and therefore the trial cannot be considered fair.