Former Ukrainian officer Serhii Kuznietsov faces charges in Germany of collusion to cause an explosion, sabotage and destruction of infrastructure.
Published On 20 Nov 2025
Italy’s top court has approved the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Europe in 2022.
The suspect, Serhii Kuznietsov, 49, has denied being part of a cell of saboteurs accused of placing explosives on the underwater pipelines in the Baltic Sea, severing much of Russia’s gas transfers to Europe and prompting supply shortages on the continent.
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After Italy originally blocked Kuznietsov’s extradition last month over an issue with a German arrest warrant, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation approved the transfer on Wednesday.
Kuznietsov “will therefore be surrendered to Germany within the next few days”, his lawyer Nicola Canestrini said.
The suspect, a former officer in the Ukrainian military, has denied any role in the attack and has fought attempts to transfer him to Germany since he was detained on a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini, where he was vacationing with his family, in August.
“However great the disappointment, I remain confident in an acquittal after the full trial in Germany,” Canestrini said in a statement.
Last month, a court in Poland ruled against handing over another Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the pipeline explosions and ordered his immediate release from detention.
Kuznietsov faces charges in Germany of collusion to cause an explosion, sabotage and destruction of important structures.
German prosecutors said he used forged identity documents to charter a yacht that departed from the German city of Rostock to carry out the attack near the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26, 2022.
According to extradition documents, prosecutors said Kuznietsov organised and carried out the detonation of at least four bombs containing 14kg to 27kg (31lb to 62lb) of explosives at a depth of 70 to 80 metres (230ft to 263ft).
The explosions damaged both the Nord Stream 1 and the Nord Stream 2 pipelines so severely that no gas could be transported through them. In total, four ruptures were discovered in the pipelines after the attack.
Kuznietsov says he was a member of the Ukrainian armed forces and in Ukraine at the time of the incident, a claim his defence team has said would give him “functional immunity” under international law.
Earlier this month, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressing concern about Kuznietsov’s extradition.
“The destruction of the pipelines dealt a significant blow to Russia’s war machine in its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine,” the MEPs wrote.
“From the standpoint of international law, actions undertaken in defence against such aggression, including the neutralisation of the enemy’s military infrastructure, fall within the lawful conduct of a just war,” they wrote.
“We, therefore, urge the Italian government to suspend any steps toward extradition until the guarantees of functional immunity and state responsibility are thoroughly and independently assessed,” they added.
Kuznietsov, who faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty by a German court, has been held in a high security jail in Italy since his arrest and at one point staged a hunger strike to protest against his prison conditions.
Six other suspects in the case remain at large.
