Italy’s top court on Wednesday allowed a Ukrainian suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline to be extradited to Germany, his defence lawyer said.
Serhii Kuznietsov has denied being part of a cell accused of placing explosives on the underwater pipelines linking Russia with Europe in September 2022, following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
After originally blocking his extradition on October 15 over an issue with the German arrest warrant, Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation finally approved the transfer following a review.
Kuznietsov “will therefore be surrendered to Germany within the next few days”, said his lawyer, Nicola Canestrini.
The Ukrainian, who is being held in jail in Italy, faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty in Germany, according to the original extradition judgement.
The pipelines, which had shipped Russian gas to Europe for years, were damaged by huge blasts a few months after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
German investigations have identified a Ukrainian cell of five men and one woman as the perpetrators of the blasts.
At the time of his arrest, German prosecutors said Kuznietsov had used forged identity documents to charter a yacht, which departed from the German city of Rostock to carry out the attacks.
Kuznietsov claims to have been 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.
“However great the disappointment,” said his lawyer, “I remain confident in an acquittal after the full trial in Germany.”
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