The first man arrested for northern sabotage refuses extradition, in a political sensitive file
Nord Stream 2, Photo: ODD Andersen / AFP / Profimedia Images
An Ukrainian man arrested this week in Italy for the sabotage that took place in 2022 to the north Stream, the gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, refused the extradition of Germany, AFP reports.
The 49 -year -old man, identified as Serhii K. by Italian prosecutors, but called the Kuznetsov in the press, was detained on Thursday and is accused of being part of the Ukrainian cell who placed explosive devices on the pipeline in September 2022.
Nord Stream, which linked Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, has long aroused controversy, because it allowed Russian gas to bypass the traditional East-European transit routes and made Germany overly dependent on the cheap energy of Moscow.
Is the first arrest made in the North Stream Sabotage File
Serhii K. is the first man arrested in the file, a political one from a political point of view in the context of the large -scale war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine in February 2022 and Western support for Kiev Riposta.
Through a translator, the man declared in a court in Bologna that he refused the request for extradition in Germany and claims that he was in Ukraine at the time of Northern Stream, the ANSA news agency said.
According to the publication, the next hearing is scheduled for September 3, and the man will remain in arrest.
Serhii K. was detained in the early hours of Thursday morning, in a bungalo in the Italian province of Rimini, based on a European arrest warrant.
Ukrainian cell made up of five men and a woman
German investigations indicated a Ukrainian cell made up of five men and a woman as the author of the pipeline explosions. It is believed that the members of the cell have rented a yacht to commit the attack, according to Der Spiegel magazine and other publications.
German prosecutors claim that Serhii K. has used forged identity documents to rent the yacht, which left the German city of Rostock to commit the attacks.
When the explosions took place in the northern Stream, the Western powers rushed to look with his finger to Russia, which was subjected to sanctions because he invaded Ukraine. Instead, Moscow looked at Kyiv.
In 2024, German prosecutors issued an arrest warrant on behalf of another Ukrainian man, Volodymyr Z., diving instructor, whose last known address was in Poland. He is suspected of counting among the divers who planted the explosive devices in an operation in which a married couple was involved who was leading a scuba, according to the public television station ARD and other publications.
The case is difficult for Germany and Ukraine, because Berlin has firmly supported Kiev in his fight against Russia. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski claims that his government did not know anything about any plans of pipes.
