A Ukrainian citizen identified as Serhii K. was arrested in Italy on Thursday in connection with the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany. German prosecutors allege he was one of the coordinators of the operation, which involved planting explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022.
Serhii K, 49, was apprehended without resistance, during a police raid, in a rented bungalow in San Clemente, a town in the Rimini province on Italy's Adriatic coast, while on holiday with his family. He is currently in Rimini jail awaiting a ruling on his extradition by the appeal court in Bologna. The arrest was carried out by Italian police based on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities on Monday.
German prosecutors allege that Serhii K. is suspected of being one of the coordinators of the attack that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea. He faces charges including collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage, and the destruction of structures. Investigators believe he played a key role in organizing the operation, rather than being one of the divers who placed the explosives.
The explosions occurred on September 26, 2022, rupturing the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and damaging the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was never operational. The damage significantly impacted Europe's energy security during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The investigation, which has been primarily led by German prosecutors since Denmark and Sweden closed their probes in February 2024, has found traces of the military-grade explosive octogen on a yacht used in the attack. This yacht, named Andromeda, was reportedly chartered from the German port of Rostock using forged identities and intermediaries.
The attack has been viewed by both Russia and the West as an act of sabotage, with no group claiming responsibility.
Russia has accused the United States of orchestrating the blasts, a claim Washington has denied. German media reports in 2023 suggested a pro-Ukraine group of divers was involved, with a yacht rental linked to the attack. In August 2024, German prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for another suspect, a diver named Volodymyr Z, indicating a broader investigation into the sabotage team.
Ukraine has denied any state involvement.
The arrest of Serhii K. marks a significant development in the long-standing investigation, with German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig calling it an "impressive investigative success."
Nord Stream 1 had been a reliable conduit for Russian gas, stretching 1,200 kilometers(km) under the Baltic Sea, while Nord Stream 2, fully owned by Russia’s Gazprom, was halted by Germany before it could operate, shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia later shut down Nord Stream 1, and the subsequent explosions deepened the mystery surrounding the sabotage, with no party officially claiming responsibility.