“Nord Stream” sabotage: Ukrainian suspect Serhiy Kuznetsov goes on hunger strike in Italian prison

Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained in Italy on suspicion of undermining the “Nord Stream” gas pipeline, has gone on a hunger strike in a maximum-security prison.

This was reported to Babel by Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Nicola Canestrini.

Since October 31, Kuznetsov has been refusing food and demanding respect for his fundamental rights, including the right to adequate nutrition, a healthy environment, decent conditions of detention, and equal treatment with other prisoners in terms of family visits and access to information.

The defense reports that since his arrest on August 22, 2025, he has not been provided with a diet compatible with his health condition, which has led to a deterioration in his physical condition.

“A prisoner’s hunger strike is always a warning sign, not only for the person concerned. No one should be forced to take extreme measures to achieve recognition of fundamental rights,” said lawyer Nicola Canestrini.

The lawyer called on the prison administration and the Italian Ministry of Justice to urgently intervene to ensure conditions that meet constitutional and international standards.

The Ukrainian is currently awaiting a decision on the European arrest warrant issued by Germany. On October 27, a court in Bologna ordered the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany.

The defense filed an appeal with the Italian Supreme Court. In particular, lawyer Canestrini noted that evidence was used against the Ukrainian in the trial that the Italian Supreme Court had already declared invalid.

“Nord Stream” explosions

On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks. Only one of the four strands of the pipeline remained intact.

The US, UK and EU governments have declared a deliberate sabotage. Russia believes that the US and its allies are interested in the bombings. Western and Russian media have written about different versions — from sabotage by the Russians themselves to the involvement of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied Ukraineʼs involvement in the sabotage.

On August 26, 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the bombing. Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained in Italy and suspected of involvement in the sabotage, denies the charges. An Italian court allowed his extradition to Germany.

In November 2024, the German newspaper Der Spiegel published an investigation that stated that the saboteurs who sabotaged “Nord Stream” also planned to blow up “TurkStream” in the Black Sea, but they failed.

In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the “Nord Stream” sabotage due to lack of jurisdiction. Following Sweden, Denmark also closed its investigation.

In October 2025, a Polish court refused to extradite another detainee in the case, Volodymyr Zhuravlev, to Germany. The court ruled that Germany had provided insufficient evidence and that the alleged act “was committed in the context of the criminal and genocidal war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine since 2014”. The Polish prosecutor’s office decided not to appeal the decision.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.