Ukrainian national arrested on suspicion of masterminding Nord Stream pipeline sabotage
The controversial structure was transporting natural gas from Russia to Germany, but was damaged by several explosions on 26 September 2022, which German authorities have linked to Ukrainian suspects.
On Wednesday night, Italian police arrested a man named as Serhii K in the province of Rimini, Germany's federal prosecutor announced today, marking the first known arrest in the case.
The suspect stands accused of being one of the coordinators behind the operation. According to German authorities, he was on board of a yacht that he and his co-conspirators had chartered in Rostock, Germany, to reach the pipelines and install explosives.
K is to be charged with anti-constitutional sabotage, causing an explosive blast and the destruction of buildings. He is supposed to be extradited to Germany.
Authorities in several countries had launched investigations into the attack, though Denmark and Sweden closed their investigations.
German authorities issued their first arrest warrant in the case for a Ukrainian man named as Volodymyr Z in June last year, while two more Ukrainians were also considered suspects. Z remains at large and has denied the charges, according to media reports.
The Nord Stream pipelines had long been facing criticism for reinforcing Germany's dependence on Russian fossil fuels and hand Moscow critical leverage over Europe's energy security.
The concerns turned out to be justified, as Russian operators ultimately halted the flow of gas through the pipeline after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The first part of the structure – the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – had been carrying gas since 2011. Nord Stream 2, the second part, was completed in 2021 but never went into operation as the certification was suspended after the Russian attack.
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