Italy halts extradition of Nord Stream sabotage suspect
Italy’s top court has suspended the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian national suspected of coordinating the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage.
The Court of Cassation ruled in favor of Sergey Kuznetsov, citing “incorrect legal classification” of facts described in the European arrest warrant, lawyer Nicola Canestrini said on Wednesday. The case will be retried at a later date.
Police detained Kuznetsov, a former Ukrainian military officer, while on vacation near the city of Rimini in August. He denies any involvement in the explosions that disabled the twin pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN) said on Wednesday that it opposes the extradition of another suspect, Ukrainian national Vladimir Zhuravlyov, who was detained in late September in Warsaw.
“It is in the vital interest of the Polish state for the alleged perpetrator or perpetrators of the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline to avoid being held accountable for this act,” the BBN said in a statement, according to the Polish Press Agency.
Russia has criticized Germany for the lack of transparency and for shutting it out of the investigation.
Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, said in 2024 that he had “information” that the US and UK were behind the sabotage. Washington, London, and Kiev have all denied involvement.
