Italy to extradite Ukrainian Nord Stream sabotage suspect to Germany

A Ukrainian man is accused of organizing the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Europe in 2022, and the country’s top court in Italy has approved his extradition to Germany.

Serhii Kuznietsov, 49, has denied being a member of a cell of saboteurs accused of severing Russia’s gas pipelines into Europe and causing supply shortages on the continent by putting his name in the ring.

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Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation on Wednesday approved the transfer after it initially blocked Kuznietsov’s extradition last month over a problem with a German arrest warrant.

Within the next few days, Kuznietsov “will therefore be surrendered to Germany,” according to his attorney, Nicola Canestrini.

Since being detained in the Italian city of Rimini in August while facing an European arrest warrant, the suspect, a former officer in the Ukrainian military, has fought attempts to move him to Germany.

Despite the enormous disappointment, Canestrini said in a statement that he is confident in an acquittal following the trial in Germany.

A Polish court ordered his immediate release from detention last month and upheld his previous ruling last month that a court in Poland had against handing over another Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the pipeline explosions.

In Germany, Kuznietsov is accused of conspiring to sabotage, destroy, and cause an explosion.

On September 26, 2022, a yacht charter from Rostock, Germany’s capital city, was used to carry out the attack close to Bornholm, Denmark’s island of Bornholm, according to German prosecutors.

At least four bombs containing 14 to 27 kg (31 to 62 kg) of explosives were planned and exploded, according to extradition documents, according to prosecutors. They were located at 230 feet (to 263 feet).

No gas could be transported through the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines because of the severe damage caused by the explosions. Following the attack, four ruptures were discovered in the pipelines overall.

Kuznietsov claims he was a member of the Ukrainian military and that he was in Ukraine at the time of the incident, which his defense team claims would grant him “functional immunity” under international law.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) expressed concern for Kuznietsov’s extradition in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier this month.

The pipelines’ destruction, according to the MEPs, “a significant blow to Russia’s war machine in its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.”

Actions taken to defend against such aggression, including the neutralization of the enemy’s military infrastructure, fall under the purview of international law, they wrote.

We therefore urge the Italian government to hold off on extradition until the conditions for functional immunity and state responsibility are thoroughly and independently assessed, they continued.

Kuznietsov, who has been imprisoned in Italy since his arrest and who is currently facing up to 15 years in prison if found guilty by a German court, has engaged in a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his conditions there.