Italy's Supreme Court yesterday approved the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian suspected of causing explosions that damaged both of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines transporting gas from Russia to Germany more than three years ago at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Defense lawyer Sergei Kuznetsov (49) said he would be handed over to German authorities in the next few days, after the Court of Cassation rejected the defense's appeal, and expressed confidence that his client would ultimately be acquitted.
The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which transported Russian natural gas to Germany until Russia cut off supplies at the end of August 2022.
The explosions also damaged the parallel Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was never put into operation because Germany suspended the certification process just before Russia went to war with Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Kuznetsov was detained on a European arrest warrant on August 21. This happened while he and his family were on vacation at a campsite near the city of Rimini in Italy.
German prosecutors claim, according to extradition documents, that Kuznetsov organized and detonated at least four bombs weighing between 14 and 27 kilograms at a sea depth of 70 to 80 meters off the Danish island of Bornholm on September 26, 2022.
Kuznetsov denied involvement, saying he was in Ukraine at the time of the explosions - as a military captain.
Poland has blocked the extradition of another suspect in this act.
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