Ukrainian arrested in Italy over Nord Stream pipeline sabotage

A Ukrainian national was arrested in Italy for allegedly coordinating the 2022 Nord Stream explosions. Photo / Getty Images

A Ukrainian national has been arrested in Italy on suspicion of helping co-ordinate the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, German federal prosecutors said.

The man is accused of causing an explosion, and sabotage and destruction of structures. The arrest comes nearly three years after underwater blasts ripped through the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines between Russia and Germany near Denmark’s Bornholm island on September 26, 2022.

European governments quickly labelled the attacks an act of sabotage, while Russia accused Western governments of responsibility. Ukraine has denied any involvement.

Italian police detained the man in the northern Rimini province in co-operation with international agencies, prosecutors said. In line with German privacy laws, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office identified the suspect only as Serhii K. The arrest followed a European warrant issued last week by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.

In a statement, Germany’s Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig described the arrest as an “impressive investigative success”.

Prosecutors said Serhii K is suspected of being part of a group that allegedly placed explosives on the pipelines after hiring a sailing yacht that departed from Rostock, on Germany’s Baltic coast.

“The yacht had previously been rented from a German company with the help of forged identity documents via intermediaries,” German prosecutors said.

After the attack, questions quickly emerged about how the explosives were placed on the pipelines. Experts suggested that trained divers likely planted them at the sites.

The blasts occurred amid Europe’s energy crisis, seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, intensifying efforts by European governments to secure alternative energy supplies and highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.

Nord Stream 1 had been Germany’s primary gas link from Russia until Moscow halted flows at the end of August 2022. Nord Stream 2 was completed at the time of the attack but never became operational after Berlin froze its certification days before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The pipelines had long drawn criticism from the United States and several allies, who argued that they threatened Europe’s energy security by deepening reliance on Russian gas.

Prosecutors said the suspect will be transferred from Italy to Germany, where he will appear before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice.