The combined heat and power plant at Lubmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, was built for one purpose: to warm Russian gas arriving through Nord Stream 1 so it could enter the German grid. It performed this function until September 2022. It has not performed it since.

Nord Stream 1 carried Russian gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Lubmin. It was operational. Russia stopped deliveries in September 2022, following sanctions on Russian energy imports.

Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021. Germany blocked its activation in February 2022, two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It never carried gas.

In September 2022, both pipelines were sabotaged. Three of four strands were destroyed. German prosecutors identified Ukrainian suspects. A Ukrainian national is currently in German custody in connection with the investigation.

The plant is owned by Industriekraftwerk Greifswald GmbH, a joint venture of SEFE Energy GmbH -- majority federal-owned -- and Eon Energy. With no gas to warm and no pipeline to receive it from, the plant had no function. SEFE sought a buyer. No buyer was found in three years. Demolition was scheduled by end of 2026.

The federal government has approved the transfer of the plant to a Ukrainian operator at no charge. Ukraine is responsible for dismantling, shipping, and reassembly. Dismantling begins this summer.

SEFE describes the transfer as "without economic disadvantage" compared to demolition.

The AfD brought the matter to the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Landtag. Party member Petra Federau described it as "politics against your own people." AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla raised it in a television interview.

The Bundesnetzagentur lists total installed German generating capacity at 273.8 GW. The plant's net output is 38.2 MW. This is 0.014 per cent of installed capacity.

The AfD motion was defeated.

The ARD faktenfinder examined the case. It noted the plant is not a relevant factor for German energy supply security. This is correct.

Germany imposed sanctions on Russian energy imports. Russia stopped gas deliveries. The plant lost its function. The pipeline was subsequently sabotaged. No buyer emerged over three years. The plant is now being transferred to the party under investigation for the sabotage.

The faktenfinder addressed the first question. The Prompt notes the sequence.

Before the war, most gas transiting Ukraine was Russian. Ukraine ended its Russian gas transit contract on 1 January 2025. Ukraine now purchases gas from Hungary and Slovakia. Both countries source their gas via the TurkStream pipeline through Turkey.

More than 70 per cent of this gas is Russian in origin. It is classified as European gas at the point of sale. Ukraine pays a premium.

The plant built to warm Russian gas for Germany will be reassembled in Ukraine. The gas available in Ukraine is, by most available estimates, the same gas.

Fox Security Advisory, the Western European engagement practice of Hartfeld Group plc, circulated a client briefing note on the transfer.

"The question of who controls your infrastructure," the note observed, "is more important than the question of whether anyone has told you."

Fox Security Advisory declined to elaborate. Engagements are conducted under strict confidentiality. Client references are not published.

The plant will be dismantled this summer. The pipeline is on the Baltic seabed.

The gas moves. It takes a longer route now. It costs more.

It is the same gas.

Sources: Tagesschau faktenfinder, 12 May 2026; SEFE Energy GmbH statement to ARD; Bundesnetzagentur capacity figures; news-pravda.com, August 2025 and March 2026; German prosecutor statements (Nord Stream investigation).