Italy’s highest court of appeal has upheld the extradition order for a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany. He will be sent to Berlin to face charges.
Serhiy Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian military officer, is accused of anti-constitutional sabotage and is expected to be transferred from Italy to Germany under police escort in the coming days.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Kuznetsov coordinated and led a group responsible for planting explosives on the pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022, though specific evidence supporting these claims has not been publicly disclosed.
The case has significant implications for the diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Germany, a major provider of military assistance to Kyiv in Europe.
Mr. Kuznetsov’s legal counsel stated that his client “feels like a scapegoat” and is “very sad” that the Ukrainian government has not offered support or confirmed his status as a serving soldier at the time of the explosions.
“If he carried out the attack, then he did so because he was ordered to do so because he was for sure a captain of the Ukrainian army,” Nicola Canestrini said following Wednesday’s hearing.
The BBC has reviewed a copy of Mr. Kuznetsov’s military identification among court documents. He has not publicly addressed his alleged involvement in the explosions.
“The Ukrainian government knows exactly where he was every day of September 2022,” his lawyer asserted. “So, if he’s innocent, why don’t they say it? If he did it, why don’t they say it? That’s his question.”
The BBC has reached out to government and security sources in Kyiv for comment, but no statement has been provided.
Mr. Kuznetsov was apprehended in northern Italy in late August at a glamping site near Rimini, where he had booked a short stay with his wife and two children.
His passport details were entered online at check-in, and this information is automatically shared with the local police, the Carabinieri.
Later that night, law enforcement officials arrived at the family’s lodging.
In a related development, a second Ukrainian suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, an amateur deep-sea diver, was detained near Warsaw, Poland, based on another German arrest warrant. He has resided in Poland with his family since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Mr. Zhuravlyov was initially held for 17 days, but a Polish court subsequently denied his extradition to Germany.
The judge presiding over the Zhuravlyov case delivered a statement arguing that no Ukrainian should be prosecuted for what he deemed a legitimate act of self-defense against Russia’s “bloody and genocidal” invasion.
In Italy, the political climate differs significantly.
Mr. Canestrini expressed “great disappointment” with the Italian court’s ruling, but affirmed that the legal battle for his client would continue in Germany, with the goal of securing an acquittal on similar grounds.
Many Ukrainians view the individuals responsible for destroying Nord Stream as heroes for eliminating a crucial revenue stream for Russia, and they struggle to understand Germany’s pursuit of this prosecution, given its status as a key ally of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, a demonstrator stood outside the courthouse in Rome, draped in a Ukrainian flag, holding a sign that read: “Serhiy Kuznetsov is a defender, not a criminal.”
The movements of the Yantar is a worry for Britain’s defence chiefs and provocative.
It comes amid reports the US and Russia have prepared a 28-point peace plan, allegedly containing major concessions for Ukraine.
Two blocks of flats were destroyed by cruise missiles in the city of Ternopil, Ukraine’s air force says.
There were no plans for the Russian side to join the talks, the Kremlin said.
Donald Tusk said the two suspects had entered Poland from Belarus and had long worked for Russia.