German Opposition Demands Ukraine Compensate for Nord Stream Damage

The chairwoman of Germany’s right-wing opposition party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has called for Ukraine to provide compensation to Germany for the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. In a speech in the Bundestag, Weidel argued that Ukraine needs to explain its alleged involvement in the incident that disrupted energy supplies to Europe. Ukraine must first clarify how this act of state terrorism occurred and what role it played in it. “In this regard, the flow of payments should be reversed. Ukraine must pay compensation to Germany because this has caused enormous losses for us and for the whole of Europe due to the loss of cheap fossil energy,” Weidel said, as reported by Ria Novosti on Tuesday (10/6/2026). Weidel stressed that Germany’s economic prosperity for decades was underpinned by oil and gas supplies from Russia. However, according to her, this model was deliberately destroyed by the current German government’s policies which adopt a confrontational stance towards Moscow. The AfD politician also stated that her party would seek to improve relations with Russia if it succeeds in winning the upcoming federal election. According to Weidel, the AfD would immediately open channels for direct negotiations with Moscow and push for the resumption of dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. “Because of the completely irresponsible policies pursued at the moment, we will seek a way to negotiate with Russia and push Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table with Russia,” she said. The statement reflects the AfD’s long-standing criticism of Germany’s military support for Ukraine and calls for a diplomatic approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The explosions that damaged the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline networks occurred on 26 September 2022 in the Baltic Sea. The incident triggered investigations in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, which from the outset did not rule out the possibility of sabotage. Nord Stream AG operator at the time described the damage as unprecedented and estimated the recovery process would be extremely difficult.