The Federal Prosecutor's Office has arrested a Ukrainian man in Italy who is alleged to have been involved in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines. The accused is said to be one of the coordinators of the operation.

According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, an arrest has been made in connection with the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines around three years ago. Italian police arrested a man in the province of Rimini who is alleged to have been involved in the attack.

According to reports, the suspect is Serhiij K., a Ukrainian. He is accused of belonging to the group of people who allegedly placed explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the island of Bornholm in September 2022. The Federal Prosecutor's Office therefore accuses the suspect of, among other things, jointly causing an explosion and unconstitutional sabotage.

According to information from the Ansa news agency, the Carabinieri tracked him down based on the information required when registering at accommodations in Italy. They noticed that the man was wanted on a European arrest warrant. The Italian authorities are now investigating whether he was also involved in attacks on ships of the so-called Russian shadow fleet in the Mediterranean.

Coordinator of the operation?

In addition, the suspect is allegedly a coordinator of the operation, according to the statement from the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

According to the report, he and his accomplices used a sailing yacht departing from Rostock for the transport. The yacht had previously been rented from a German company through intermediaries using forged identification documents. Following his transfer from Italy, the accused will be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, who will decide on his remand in custody.

Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig described the arrest as a"very impressive investigative success." One of the "suspected masterminds" of the sabotage had been arrested. The SPD politician warned that the detonation of the Nord Stream pipelines must be investigated, including through criminal prosecution.

Blasting caused leaks in pipes

The two gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, were damaged and disrupted by multiple explosions on September 26, 2022. Shortly thereafter, four leaks were discovered in three of the four pipelines. The pipelines are considered severely damaged but repairable. They have not yet been permanently abandoned. In March, Denmark permitted Nord Stream 2 AG to carry out maintenance work at the site of the explosions.

Russian natural gas previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1. Nord Stream 2 was not yet operational due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the resulting political differences.

After the attack, questions quickly arose as to how the explosives had been placed to damage the pipelines. Experts considered it likely that trained divers had planted explosives at the sites. Authorities in several countries launched investigations after the attack. Denmark and Sweden, however, dropped the proceedings.