Germany’s prosecutor general confirmed Thursday that Italian authorities have detained a Ukrainian man suspected of orchestrating the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
The suspect—identified as Serhii K. under German privacy laws—is set to appear before a German judge following his transfer from Italy.
The sabotage, carried out in September 2022 near the Danish island of Bornholm, caused severe damage to pipelines transporting Russian gas to Europe.
No one has claimed responsibility for the explosions, which escalated tensions in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and worsened Europe’s energy supply crisis.
According to the German prosecutor, Serhii K. was part of a team that planted explosive devices after departing from Rostock, Germany, on a sailing yacht using forged identification documents.
He faces charges including collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings.
Italian Carabinieri arrested him overnight in Rimini, on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
