Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov has already been extradited from Italy to Germany, where he is suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the “Nord Stream” gas pipelines.
This was reported by the Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Lubinets.
Lubinets has asked the German human rights institution to monitor the Ukrainianʼs rights after he arrives. He has also asked the German Federal Prosecutorʼs Office to ensure an objective investigation and further prosecution.
He separately emphasized that at the time of the events that incriminate Serhiy, he was serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and therefore the guarantees of international humanitarian law should apply to this case.
An advisor to the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights will be involved in monitoring the trial in Germany.
According to Babel, Kuznetsov is to be taken to the German city of Karlsruhe, where the prosecutorʼs office is conducting the investigation. A court hearing is scheduled for November 28, where it is to be confirmed that this is indeed Sergei Kuznetsov.
“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.
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.
On October 27, a court in Bologna ordered the extradition of Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany. The defense appealed to the Italian Supreme Court.
That same month, a Polish court refused to extradite another detainee in the case Volodymyr Zhuravlyov 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.
On November 19, the Italian Supreme Court upheld the decision to extradite Serhiy Kuznetsov to Germany. In particular, the court found no evidence in favor of Kuznetsovʼs functional immunity as a Ukrainian military officer. One of the reasons was that no Ukrainian authority officially recognized the sabotage of “Nord Stream” as a military operation.
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