Italy arrested a Ukrainian man at German request on August 21, accusing him of being a member of a group of Ukrainians who planted explosives at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. The 49-year-old suspect is suspected of coordinating the attack that disrupted Russian gas supplies to Europe.
The suspect, identified only as Serhii K under German privacy law, could now be extradited to Germany.
Russia has welcomed the latest developments in the Nord Stream investigation. "We are pleased that the investigation is underway. We hope the investigation will be completed and not only those who carried out it but also those who ordered this terrorist act will be published," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Mr. Peskov added that Berlin has not contacted Moscow about the Nord Stream investigation. It is known that German law enforcement agency believes that it has identified all members of the sabotage group behind the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion, according to a joint investigation by German broadcaster ARD and newspapers Suddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit.
The investigation shows that Germany has previously identified seven individuals, all of whom are Ukrainian citizens, as responsible for the Nord Stream sabotage in 2022. One of the seven, Serhii K, was arrested in Italy. This is the first arrest in the Nord Stream case. German investigators believe he was the one who coordinated the sabotage group. The suspects also include four divers, an explosives expert and the captain of the Andromeda yacht, which was used to access the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.
The seventh suspect is Ukrainian soldier Vsevolod K, who was trained in Germany. This person was killed while on duty in Ukraine.
The joint investigation revealed little detail about the Nord Stream suspects. Among the divers was a Ukrainian woman from a private diving school in Kiev, while a marine, identified as one from Odessa, was identified through the fingerprint he provided during his previous trip to the Netherlands. This arm was found on the Andromeda.
German investigators also found certain signs of a connection between Nord Stream suspects and Ukrainian special services or the military. These include suspicious people possessing fake Ukrainian passports, in which Serhii K had two, and many other signs.
The joint investigation noted that it has not yet proven whether the Nord Stream explosion was licensed by Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly affirmed that his government is not aware of any plans to sabotage Nord Stream.
Nord Stream is a gas pipeline that delivers Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing East European transit routes. At the time of the Nord Stream explosion, both pipelines were not transporting gas. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was only completed before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out and has never been officially operated.
