Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream pipeline blasts arrested in Italy
A Ukrainian suspect wanted in connection with the Nord Stream pipeline blasts has been arrested in Italy, German prosecutors say.
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The Ukrainian citizen, known as Serhii K., was arrested by Italian authorities on Thursday, accused of participating in the undersea explosions which took place on September 26, 2022.
The 37-year-old suspect was arrested overnight in Italy’s Rimini province, according to federal prosecutors.
Italian authorities added that he is thought to be one of the coordinators of the operation.
The Nord Stream pipeline explosion came after the fuel lines were sabotaged with several explosive devices, each of which detonated with a force equivalent to half a tonne of TNT.
This created the largest methane leak ever recorded.
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Thursday's arrest is the second man to be detained in connection with the deep-sea explosion, after 44-year-old Ukrainian diving instructor Volodymyr Zhuravlov was arrested and later charged in Sweden in August last year.
Authorities have said the 37-year-old will now be brought before a German judge after he is returned to Germany.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines connect Russia and Germany, delivering large volumes of gas beneath the Baltic Sea at a depth of around 75-metres.
The Nord Stream is significant because it symbolises Germany's dependence on Russian gas, even as it backs Ukraine against the Kremlin's invasion.
Several theories have circulated as to who could be behind the sabotage, with Russia blamed by some in the West, and others variously pointing the finger at the US and UK, Ukraine and Poland.
Russia blamed the Royal Navy for the attack, with British military chiefs accusing them in response of "peddling false claims".
The Russian salvage ship SS-750, carrying a mini-submarine, was observed by the Danish Navy at the site of the sabotage four days before the explosions.
Germany then suggested its belief that a Ukrainian group organised the sabotage using a 50ft yacht.
Pictures circulated around the world in the wake of the explosion showed a large volume of gas disrupting the ocean's surface.
The pipeline consists of two terminals - Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.
The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Russia’s main natural gas supply into Germany until Moscow ceased all gas delivery in August 2022 following the start of the Ukraine war.
There was also extensive damage to Nord Stream 2 - a pipeline that never reopened following the explosions.
The closure was in part down to Germany's decision to suspend its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year.