Authorities arrest a Ukrainian suspect in the Nord Stream explosion during a holiday in Italy
The federal prosecutor's office confirmed on Thursday that Ukrainian citizen Serhiy K. was arrested near the city of Rimini in Italy. The arrest occurred overnight while he was on vacation with his family on the Adriatic coast, where a routine check revealed that he was wanted across Europe.
According to Italian media, the police were able to identify the 49-year-old man during his stay and quickly arrested him. His name has been linked to one of the most dangerous attacks on energy infrastructure in Europe in recent years.
The prosecution accuses Serhiy K. of playing a key role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022. He is alleged to have been part of a group that planted explosives on the pipelines near Bornholm Island, where he was one of the coordinators of the operation.
Investigators believe that the group sailed on a yacht from the port of Rostock to the site of the pipelines. There, divers installed explosives that detonated on September 26, 2022, causing significant damage.
The explosions caused leaks in three out of four pipelines. Nord Stream 1 was transporting Russian natural gas to Germany before the incident, while Nord Stream 2 had not yet entered service due to the war in Ukraine and the resulting political disputes.