Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, Germany’s prosecutor general said on Thursday.
The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, a statement from the prosecutor’s office said.
He was arrested overnight in the province of Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast and will be brought before a German judge after being transferred, the statement added.
Serhii K and his accomplices had set off from Rostock on Germany’s north-eastern coast in a sailing yacht to carry out the attack, according to the prosecutors office.
It added that the vessel had been rented from a German company with the help of forged identity documents via middlemen.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions in September 2022 that severely damaged three pipelines transporting gas from Russia to Europe.
It represented a significant escalation in the Ukraine conflict and worsening of the continent’s energy supply crisis.
Russia and the West have both said they see the damage to the pipelines as an act of sabotage.
Both the US and Ukraine previously denied any involvement as Moscow blamed the West.
Authorities acted on a European arrest warrant for the suspect, who faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of buildings.
Germany’s justice minister Stefanie Hubig said the arrest was an “impressive success” for Germany’s state prosecutors.
She added: “The bombing of the pipelines must be investigated, including through criminal prosecution. Therefore, it is good that we are making progress in this regard.”
Italian police had no immediate comment.
Denmark and Sweden closed their Nord Stream pipeline investigations in February 2024, leaving Germany as the only
country continuing to pursue the case.
Danish authorities concluded there was “deliberate sabotage of the gas pipelines” but found “insufficient grounds
to pursue a criminal case”, while Sweden closed its investigation citing a lack of jurisdiction.
The leaks occurred in international waters but within the exclusive economic zone of Denmark and Sweden.
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