Italian court approves extradition of Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream sabotage
global.espreso.tv
Mon, 27 Oct 2025 17:14:00 +0200

This is reported by tagesschau.The lawyer for the Ukrainian suspect stated that the Italian court agreed to his extradition to Germany in the case concerning the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.The case may be reviewed again. Following the decision in Bologna, lawyer Nicola Canestrini announced his intention to appeal to the Court of Cassation in Rome, which had previously sent the case back to Bologna.BackgroundOn the night of September 26, 2022, a sudden pressure drop occurred in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. By September 27, it was revealed that gas had leaked from the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline into the Baltic Sea, just before the launch of the Baltic Gas Pipeline.Experts determined that on September 26, a man-made explosion, equivalent to about 700 kg of TNT, occurred along the routes of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg then called the incident an act of sabotage.Media outlets in the U.S. and Germany investigated the Nord Stream incident, suggesting the involvement of pro-Ukrainian forces, but officials from these countries and NATO advised waiting for the official investigation results. Subsequently, on March 16, it was announced that Denmark would not allow Russian representatives to participate in the investigation of the underwater explosions. Later, on April 27, Denmark confirmed that the Russian special vessel SS-750 was near the Nord Stream pipeline four days before the pipes were blown up.On Saturday, June 10, The Wall Street Journal published an article stating that those who carried out the sabotage could have used Poland as a base for the attack. The publication cited an analysis of data from the yacht Andromeda, which was allegedly used to carry out the pipeline explosions. According to this data, the vessel had deviated from its course and entered Polish waters.On June 11, Stanisław Żaryn, the Polish government's plenipotentiary for the security of the information space and spokesman for the minister-coordinator of special services, denied Poland's involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage.On August 21, 2025, Italian police detained a Ukrainian citizen suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. During a court hearing, he denied the accusations and refused extradition to Germany.On August 28, ARD, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Zeit reported in a joint investigation that Germany believes it has identified all individuals involved in the Nord Stream sabotage, and that all of them are Ukrainian citizens.On September 4, it was reported that the Italian Court of Appeal had postponed the extradition hearing for the Ukrainian suspect until September 9. On October 1, the Warsaw District Court ordered a seven-day detention for a Ukrainian, Volodymyr Z., suspected of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.On October 7, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed that the extradition of the Ukrainian suspect is not in Poland's interest, and that shame should be felt by those who built the gas pipelines.








