A court in Bologna has ruled to extradite Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, suspected of blowing up the “Nord Stream” pipeline in 2022, to Germany.
This is stated in a release from Kuznetsovʼs lawyer Nicola Canestrini.
He stated that he intends to appeal this decision to the highest court of Italy. In particular, Canestrini noted that the evidence used against the Ukrainian in the trial had already been declared invalid by the Supreme Court of Italy.
In particular, the complaint concerns:
- failure to comply with the principle of mutual trust between Member States, as the Polish ruling, which directly recognized objective (so-called functional) immunity, was not taken into account;
- failure to carry out a proper examination of procedural and penitentiary guarantees in the requesting State;
- failure to take into account aspects of functional immunity and the political nature of the alleged offense of sabotage.
"It is not just about the fate of one person, but about the very trust in the European system of judicial cooperation. Mutual trust cannot be blind: it must be based on real control of guarantees, otherwise it turns into complicity in the violation of fundamental rights," Canestrini noted.
The hearing at the Court of Cassation will take place in about a month, and until then, the detained Ukrainian Kuznetsov will remain in Italy.
The defense emphasizes that it will not stop its efforts until the court finally considers the aspects of international law and the protection of fundamental rights involved in this case.
Meanwhile, the Warsaw District Court refused to extradite another Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravlev, who is suspected of undermining “Nord Stream”, to Germany.
“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.
On October 15, the Italian Court of Cassation overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal to extradite to Germany former Ukrainian military captain Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained on August 21 in the province of Rimini under a European arrest warrant on suspicion of sabotage of the “Nord Stream” pipeline.
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