An Italian appeals court has approved the extradition of Ukrainian national Sergey Kuznetsov to Germany, where he is suspected of coordinating the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombings.
The former military officer is accused by German prosecutors of leading a small group of Ukrainian nationals believed to have sabotaged the gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea.
The Bologna appeals court upheld an earlier decision authorising Kuznetsov’s transfer, though his lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, confirmed the case will now be appealed to Italy’s highest judicial body, the Court of Cassation. Kuznetsov will remain in Italy until that ruling is made, likely within a month. Canestrini said the defence will continue challenging the extradition on international law and human rights grounds.
The development comes weeks after a Polish court rejected Germany’s request to extradite another suspect, diving instructor Vladimir Zhuravlyov, citing “insufficient evidence” and questioning Berlin’s jurisdiction over an incident that occurred in international waters.
Moscow has dismissed claims blaming a small Ukrainian group, instead accusing the U.S. under and its allies of orchestrating the Nord Stream attack. American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh previously alleged the sabotage was ordered by then-President Joe Biden and executed by US Navy divers with Norwegian assistance — a claim Washington and Oslo have denied.
https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/02/26/nord-stream-revelation-submarines-in-the-nato-lake/