The Ombudsmanʼs Office will demand access to the place of detention of a Ukrainian suspected of undermining the “Nord Stream” pipeline

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets took personal control of the situation with the detention of Serhiy Kuznetsov — a suspect in the “Nord Stream sabotage”, who has declared a hunger strike in an Italian prison.

He wrote about this on social media.

Lubinets stated that the conditions of detention of a Ukrainian in a high-security prison are unacceptable and contradict the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

He recalled that a Polish court recently acquitted another Ukrainian citizen who was charged under similar circumstances in the “Nord Stream” case.

"This decision confirms the lack of a proper evidentiary basis for such accusations and should be taken into account by the courts of other EU member states," Lubinets emphasized.

The Ukrainian Ombudsman appealed to the Ombudsman of Italy and the Lazio region to ensure compliance with basic rights and proper conditions for Kuznetsov.

He added that tomorrow, representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine will try to gain access to Kuznetsovʼs place of detention to check the conditions of detention, his health, and provide the necessary support.

As Serhiy Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Nikola Canestrini previously told Babel, since October 31, the Ukrainian has been refusing food and demanding respect for his fundamental rights, including the right to proper nutrition, a healthy environment, decent conditions of detention, and equal treatment with other prisoners regarding 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.

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 a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. On October 27, a court in Bologna ordered the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany. The defense has filed an appeal with the Italian Supreme Court.

“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.

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