A new twist in the Nord Stream case: Italy extradites Ukrainian Sergiy Kuznetsov to Germany
27 November 21:22
Italy has completed the extradition of 49-year-old Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany, where he is suspected of organizing the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in 2022. This was reported by Spiegel, [ komersant] reports.
This step was a key development in the international investigation of the sabotage, which caused billions of dollars in damage to Russian infrastructure and gas leaks.
Kuznetsov, who was detained in Italy while on vacation, was taken to Germany by helicopter. A judge is to choose a preventive measure for him in the near future.
Extradition took place after a lengthy trial
At the end of October, the Bologna Court of Appeal (Italy) ruled that Kuznetsov should be handed over to the German authorities. Last week, the Italian Supreme Court rejected the defense’s final appeal.
Lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk opposed the extradition, insisting on the “political and military nature of the incriminated actions”, which, according to him, are part of an international armed conflict.
According to the lawyer, the Ukrainian was taken to Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg), and on November 28, the court is to choose a preventive measure. It is expected that after the formal procedure, Kuznetsov will be transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Hamburg, where he will be held in a separate cell.
Earlier, Kuznetsov went on a hunger strike to protest his extradition, demanding respect for his rights, but ended it on November 11.
The Nord Stream case and the Ukrainian trail
The case of the explosions at the Russian Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines (September 27, 2022) is one of the most high-profile sabotage cases of recent years. Although Russia blamed the UK for the explosions, Germany and the EU suspected sabotage from the very beginning.
Investigation version
German media reported that investigators had identified a group of seven people who carried out the bombings from a pleasure yacht.
Connection to Ukraine
According to the Wall Street Journal, German police and prosecutors believe that the Ukrainian military, under the leadership of Ukraine’s then Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, may have been involved in the bombings.
Investigators have traced the actions of an elite unit that allegedly carried out the attacks from a pleasure yacht using open seabed maps.
The suspects
According to journalists, investigators combined digital traces – boat rentals, phone connections, license plates – with intelligence data.
The key piece of evidence was allegedly a black-and-white photo from a radar station, which identified one of the divers using commercial facial recognition software.
Then the police traced the connections through social media and came up with two people – Vladimir Zhuravlev and Sergey Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov, a former SBU officer, was found in Italy after a long search.
According to the WSJ, Zhuravlev was taken from Poland to Ukraine in a car with diplomatic license plates.
Arrest warrants and next steps
Germany has issued arrest warrants for six suspects, including Zhuravlev and Kuznetsov. The seventh suspect, who had studied in Germany, died at the front in Ukraine.
The Nord Stream case continues to be investigated, and its outcome could have far-reaching political and diplomatic consequences for the EU and Ukraine.
The extradition of Kuznetsov will allow German prosecutors to launch a full-fledged trial, which will likely shed light for the first time on who is behind the sabotage of the critical Russian gas transit infrastructure.
As a reminder, in September 2022 , leaks occurred in the Baltic Sea at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which are key to the transit of Russian gas to Europe.
