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Italian court blocks extradition to Germany of Ukrainian accused of 2022 Nord Stream sabotage

The Cassation Court annulled the ruling to hand over the former Ukrainian officer, calling for a new judicial review.
byYuri Zoria
16/10/2025
3 minute read
italian court blocks extradition ukrainian accused 2022 nord stream sabotage · post police escorting serhii kuznietsov 49 coordinating pipelines ansa 1757424807497_serhii_kuznietsov ukraine news reports
Italian police escorting Serhii Kuznietsov, 49, the Ukrainian accused of coordinating the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. Photo: ANSA.
Italian court blocks extradition to Germany of Ukrainian accused of 2022 Nord Stream sabotage

Italy’s Court of Cassation has overturned the decision to extradite Ukrainian former army captain Serhii Kuznietsov to Germany over accusations he took part in sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, ANSA reported on 15 October. The ruling restarts the extradition process and sends the case back to a new appeals court panel for review.

The Nord Stream pipelines, which connected Russia and Germany, were hit by a series of explosions on 26 September 2022, seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The blasts affected three of the four pipelines, rendering them inoperable. Nord Stream 1 was 51% owned by Gazprom, while Nord Stream 2 was 100% owned by the Russian state energy company.
German authorities earlier claimed they had identified seven suspects, one of whom has since died. Among those identified were individuals linked to a private diving school in Kyiv. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all opened investigations, but the Danish and Swedish probes closed in February 2024 without identifying any suspects.

Court annuls Kuznietsov’s extradition

At the 15 October 2025 hearing, the Court of Cassation annulled the appeal‑court ruling after the Prosecutor General and the defense lawyer Nicola Canestrini raised an issue over the erroneous legal classification in the European arrest warrant. Defense lawyer Nicola Canestrini had argued that the warrant inaccurately described the nature of the alleged acts. The top court agreed and annulled the ruling previously made by the Court of Appeal in Bologna.

Kuznietsov, 49, was arrested on 21 August in the Rimini area of northern Italy, under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. He is accused by German prosecutors of playing a coordinating role in the September 2022 underwater explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

This decision does not mean Kuznietsov will be released. Instead, the extradition case will be re-evaluated by a different judicial panel.
Earlier, Kuznietsov denied charges related to the Nord Stream explosions during a court hearing in Bologna and refused consent for extradition to Germany.

Other suspects and background of the Nord Stream blasts

Two weeks before the Italian Cassation Court ruling, another Ukrainian, identified as Volodymyr Z, was arrested in Poland under a European arrest warrant. Germany issued the warrant a year earlier, claiming he is a trained diver suspected of being involved in the same operation. 

At this point, no evidence has been presented linking Ukraine, Russia, or any other country directly to the sabotage.

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