Blowing of “Nord Stream”: MEPs wrote a letter to the Italian Prime Minister calling on her to stop the extradition of a detained Ukrainian

MEPs appealed to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni regarding Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained on a German arrest warrant in the “Nord Stream” sabotage case.

The text of the appeal was provided to Babel by Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk.

In a letter dated 5 November 2025, MEPs expressed “serious concern” about the decision of the Bologna Court of Appeal to allow the extradition. They noted that Kuznetsov had gone on hunger strike because he was not allowed to see his family, and was being denied access to information and proper nutrition due to his health condition.

MEPs stressed that the destruction of the “Nord Stream” gas pipelines dealt a serious blow to the Russian war machine in its aggression against Ukraine, and actions aimed at neutralizing the enemyʼs military infrastructure can be considered legitimate self-defense in accordance with international law.

They also referred to the decision of the Warsaw District Court in the case of another Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlev, who was denied extradition, recognizing the functional immunity of a civil servant acting on behalf of Ukraine.

"The extradition of a person who acted on behalf of the Ukrainian state would undermine the principle of state immunity and could turn the trial into a political act," the appeal states.

The authors of the letter called on the Italian government to suspend any extradition steps until the guarantees of functional immunity and state responsibility have been “thoroughly and independently assessed”.

In their opinion, continuing the procedure without this “would set a dangerous precedent for European justice, undermine trust between EU countries, and jeopardize Ukraine’s sovereign right to protection”.

The appeal was signed by 11 MEPs.

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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