The Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian man for his alleged involvement in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, German prosecutors said Thursday.
According to a statement from Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office, Italian officers arrested the 49-year-old suspect, identified as Serhii K., in the province of Rimini in Italy. The Wall Street Journal reported that the suspect is a retired Ukrainian army officer who served in Kyiv’s defense in 2022.
Federal prosecutors said he was part of a group that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany. The blasts cut off a major natural gas supply to Europe amid an energy crisis caused by Russia’s war.
Prosecutors said the suspect and his accomplices carried out the attack using a yacht that departed from the port of Rostock. The vessel had been rented through intermediaries with forged identity documents.
Serhii K. faces charges of causing an explosion, sabotage, and damaging critical infrastructure. He is currently held in Rimini, and will be extradited to Germany to appear before an investigating judge.
No state or organization has claimed responsibility for the blasts. Ukraine had previously denied any involvement in the incident.
The arrest comes amid diplomatic talks between Kyiv and the United States over how to end the war in Ukraine.
“Politically, we remain firmly on Ukraine’s side and will continue to be so,” Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said when asked if the arrest would affect Germany’s relations with Ukraine. “What matters is that Germany is a country governed by the rule of law, and crimes within our jurisdiction are thoroughly investigated.”
