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Nord Stream pipeline attacks: Ukrainian arrested in Italy in major breakthrough
Nord Stream pipiline attacks suspect was arrested after an alert was triggered at police headquarters when he presented documents during a hotel check-in Italy.
A Ukrainian man was reportedly arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on Thursday on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, officials said, marking a significant development in a case that heightened tensions between Russia and the West.
This comes as a major breakthrough in the case, as the explosions, described by both Moscow and Western governments as sabotage, severely disrupted Russian gas supplies to Europe.
The blasts is also believed to be one of the reasons that intensified the Ukraine conflict and strained energy resources across the continent. However, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far. Ukraine and United States has denied involvement.
Details of the alleged operation
A police official told Reuters that the suspect was arrested after an alert was triggered at police headquarters when he presented documents during a hotel check-in, prompting a Carabinieri patrol to intervene.
The suspect, identified as Serhii K under German privacy rules, was part of a group that planted devices on the pipelines near Denmark’s Bornholm island in the Baltic Sea, according to a statement from the German prosecutor’s office cited by news agency Reuters.
Italian Carabinieri officers arrested the suspect overnight in San Clemente on Italy’s Adriatic coast, where he was staying briefly with his family.
"Once his presence had been verified, the Carabinieri surrounded the bungalow and launched a raid, during which the man surrendered without resistance," a Carabinieri statement said, adding that the suspect is 49 years old.
The authorities acted on a European arrest warrant. The suspect faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of critical infrastructure.
A Ukrainian presidential office official declined to comment when requested by Reuters, stating it was unclear who had been arrested, while reiterating Ukraine’s denial of involvement.
Suspect is a former Ukrainian officer?
Reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest the suspect is a retired captain in Ukraine’s armed forces, with prior service in the Ukrainian security service (SBU) and an elite unit defending Kyiv during the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
The officer allegedly led a team of two soldiers and four civilian divers recruited by a special Ukrainian military unit to lay explosives on the undersea pipelines, according to investigators cited by the WSJ. German prosecutors declined to comment on these claims.
"Politically we are firmly on Ukraine's side and will continue to be so," said Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig when asked if the arrest could affect Berlin’s relations with Kyiv. “What is important for me is that Germany is a country of law, and crimes in our jurisdiction are fully investigated.”
Background of the Nord Stream attacks
In September 2022, one Nord Stream 2 pipeline line and both lines of Nord Stream 1 were damaged in mysterious blasts. Moscow blamed Western sabotage without evidence, while the US denied involvement.
Earlier investigations by Germany, Denmark, and Sweden suggested trained divers could have attached explosives at depths of 70 to 80 meters.
A ship leased in Germany via a Poland-registered company was raided in January 2023 and contained traces of octogen, the same explosive found at the underwater blast sites.
(With Reuters inputs)
