In the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, a person allegedly involved in the detonation of the Nord Stream pipelines has been detained. This is Ukrainian Serhiy K., who, according to the investigation, was allegedly on board the sailboat used by the attackers.
UNN reports with reference to Spiegel.
Details
Italian police arrested Ukrainian citizen Serhiy K. on Wednesday evening in the Rimini area based on a European arrest warrant. During the investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage, Prosecutor General Jens Rommel issued the first arrest warrant for one of the suspects in 2024. However, the accused could not be arrested immediately. He left his place of residence in Poland before being apprehended.
Context
The Prosecutor General of the Federal Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the explosions in the Nord Stream pipeline network since 2022. Currently, suspicions of "unconstitutional sabotage and causing an explosion" have been formed in the case.
The attack on the pipelines was carried out in September 2022. The investigation materials feature a group that included Ukrainian divers. They were allegedly transported from a specially rented sailing yacht to the pipeline area to then plant explosives on the seabed.
Serhiy K. was reportedly on board the boat named "Andromeda." But investigators from the Federal Prosecutor's Office assume that he was not one of the divers, Spiegel notes.
Security sources report that it is still unclear when Serhiy K. will be extradited to Germany.
Addition
In 2024, Spiegel spoke with people who are well acquainted with events in Ukraine.
Representatives of the special diving group had no intention of committing a crime, according to the German publication.
Since the profits from gas supplies to Germany largely contributed to financing Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline was an action against a "legitimate military target," writes Spiegel, supporting this conclusion with the views of "Ukrainian men and women."
Another important detail written by the German publication:
The operation (referring to the sabotage on the Nord Stream pipeline), as Spiegel notes, was sanctioned by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Politicians and media initially assumed that Russian criminals were behind the explosions. Investigators from the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor's Office eventually tracked down the sailing yacht and discovered its connections to Ukraine
Recall
The following information has emerged regarding this case over the past years:
A senior Ukrainian military officer, who had deep ties to Ukraine's intelligence services, played a central role in last year's Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion.
Germany will do everything possible to prevent the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from operating.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out the possibility of launching the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.