A Ukrainian national was arrested in Italy on suspicion of involvement in explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines. German prosecutors identified the suspect as Serhii K and accuse him of belonging to a group that allegedly planted explosive devices on Nord Stream 1 and 2 near Bornholm on 26 September 2022. Investigators say the group transported explosives on a sailing yacht that left Rostock using a vessel rented through intermediaries with falsified identity documents. Nord Stream, majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom, was built to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany. The blasts rendered the pipelines inoperable after Russia's February 2022 invasion. Germany issued an arrest warrant in August 2024 for Volodymyr Z, believed to be the mastermind, and various reports have pointed to Ukrainian operatives.
The suspect, whose arrest was confirmed by Italian police, was identified by German prosecutors only as Serhii K, in accordance with German privacy laws. German federal prosecutors said he is accused of belonging to a group that allegedly planted explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines on the Baltic seabed near the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26, 2022.
Serhii K and his accomplices transported the explosives on a sailing yacht that departed from the German port of Rostock, according to German prosecutors. The vessel had been rented from a local company through intermediaries using falsified identity documents. Nord Stream, majority-owned by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom and co-financed by major European energy companies, was constructed to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing transit states such as Ukraine and Poland, which have had strained relations with Moscow.
Collection
[
|
...
]