The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg has decided to continue the trial of Ukrainian citizen Sergey Kuznetsov, who is accused of organizing explosions in the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines, dpa informs. The embassy. The court rejected the defense's motion to suspend the trial, which began two weeks ago. Lawyers for Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian officer, argued that he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and therefore Rov cannot consult with his lawyers or testify in court. Otherwise, he is threatened with severe sanctions in Ukraine, the defense side announced. However, the court did not accept that argument. "According to the German legislation, the defendant is not limited in the implementation of his defense," the presiding judge stated. After the publication of the decision, the process will continue without a break. In the near future, the expert of the Federal Criminal Police Department of Germany will give a testimony, who will tell about the nature of the injuries to the gas pipelines and the causes of the explosions. Fifty-year-old Kuznetsov is accused of leading the sabotage against gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. According to the indictment, he organized the explosion together with six other people. The charges include war crimes involving the use of prohibited methods of warfare against civilian objects, planning an explosion, destroying buildings and disrupting the operation of public supply facilities. in On September 26, 2022, several explosive devices were detonated on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, not far from the Danish island of Bornholm, at a depth of about 80 meters. As a result, the "North Stream-1" and "North Stream-2" gas pipelines were seriously damaged. In total, four leaks occurred on three of the four pipeline branches. Before the sabotage, "North Stream-1" was used to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany, while "North Stream-2" was never put into operation. After the start of the war in Ukraine, Moscow, against the background of worsening relations with Europe, repeatedly reduced or stopped gas supplies through the first gas pipeline.