German authorities have identified a direct link between the Nord Stream sabotage group and an elite unit of the Ukrainian army, operating under the supervision of former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
The Wall Street Journal quoted German prosecutors and investigators as saying that the federal investigation agency in potsdam had collected enough evidence to form a clear picture of how the Ukrainian task force conducted the attack that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in 2022.
The group, reportedly consisted of three soldiers from a special unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and four professional divers, all of whom were former soldiers. They are believed to have acted under the direct direction of the then-Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
The sabotage group's goal, according to German investigators, is to "disrupt Russian gas revenue and sever energy ties between Moscow and Berlin".
Clue from the black and white photo
One of the most important pieces of evidence discovered came from a black and white photo taken by a German high-speed camera.
In the photo, investigators recognize the face of a Ukrainian diver. Using facial recognition software, the police quickly verified the identity of this person, searched for social media accounts and professional pages related to other suspects.
The diver was later traced to Poland and was then escorted back to Ukraine in a black BMW with a diplomatic license plate, driven by a person believed to be a Ukrainian military attache in Warsaw, according to the report.
Also from these focal points, the German investigator once discovered the commander of the sabotage group, who coordinated the entire campaign under false identities.
They only have a passport with a photo of a giant man with blue eyes, issued by Ukraine under the legal name of another person - a method commonly used in special services campaigns.
After a long search, the border guards of a friendly Germany European country have identified the true identity of the person as Serhii K (serhii Kuznetsov), a 46-year-old former officer of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Before joining the special forces unit, Serhii K commanded an air defense unit in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine.
Waiting for the extradition decision from Italy
Last October, the Bologna court (Italy) ruled in favor of extraditing Serhii K to Germany at the request of federal prosecutors. However, the defense attorney appealed to the Italian Supreme Court, and the final verdict was expected before the end of December.
While awaiting trial, Serhii K was exiled in protest of the extradition, while the Ukrainian side officially expressed concern about the suspect's critical health. Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said the former officer's health has "graved" after many weeks in prison in Italy.
Germany has prepared special aircraft to bring Serhii K from Italy to Hamburg immediately after the extradition warrant takes effect. If charged, the suspect could face a long-term prison sentence for sabotage of Europe's strategic energy infrastructure.
