Italy: Arrest of Ukrainian Suspect in Nord Stream Sabotage Upheld

An Italian appeals court has upheld the arrest of a Ukrainian man suspected by German authorities of coordinating the team that sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022, according to his lawyer.

The 49-year-old man, known as Serhii K. due to German privacy laws, was arrested near Rimini on a European arrest warrant. The Bologna Court of Appeal will consider his extradition to Germany on September 3.

The man told the court he was a former soldier. Video footage shows him making a defiant three-finger gesture, a symbol of the Ukrainian national coat of arms.

German prosecutors announced that he was part of a team that placed devices on the pipelines near the island of Bornholm. He faces charges of conspiracy to cause an explosion, sabotage, and destruction of infrastructure.

He was arrested in San Clemente, near Rimini, where he was vacationing with his family. According to the prosecutor's office, he sailed from Rostock on a yacht rented with false identities.