{"id":2720,"date":"2025-11-20T06:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T06:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2720"},"modified":"2025-11-20T06:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T06:01:12","slug":"italy-to-extradite-ukrainian-nord-stream-sabotage-suspect-to-germany-russia-ukraine-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2720","title":{"rendered":"Italy to extradite Ukrainian Nord Stream sabotage suspect to Germany | Russia-Ukraine war News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Former Ukrainian officer Serhii Kuznietsov faces charges in Germany of collusion to cause an explosion, sabotage and destruction of infrastructure.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 20 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">20 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Italy\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s gas transfers to Europe and prompting supply shortages on the continent.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>After Italy originally blocked Kuznietsov\u2019s extradition last month over an issue with a German arrest warrant, Italy\u2019s Supreme Court of Cassation approved the transfer on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Kuznietsov \u201cwill therefore be surrendered to Germany within the next few days\u201d, his lawyer Nicola Canestrini said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever great the disappointment, I remain confident in an acquittal after the full trial in Germany,\u201d Canestrini said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Kuznietsov faces charges in Germany of collusion to cause an explosion, sabotage and destruction of important structures.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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).<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cfunctional immunity\u201d under international law.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressing concern about Kuznietsov\u2019s extradition.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1879816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1879816\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-1879816\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Interactive_NordStreamLeak3-01.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C770&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"INTERACTIVE - NORD STREAM SABOTAGE\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1879816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Al Jazeera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe destruction of the pipelines dealt a significant blow to Russia\u2019s war machine in its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine,\u201d the MEPs wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the standpoint of international law, actions undertaken in defence against such aggression, including the neutralisation of the enemy\u2019s military infrastructure, fall within the lawful conduct of a just war,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe, 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,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Six other suspects in the case remain at large.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Ukrainian officer Serhii Kuznietsov faces charges in Germany of collusion to cause an explosion, sabotage and destruction of infrastructure. Published On 20 Nov 202520 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Italy\u2019s top court has approved the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the sabotage of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}