An Italian court ordered the extradition Tuesday of a Ukrainian man apprehended in connection with the 2022 explosion of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines to Germany.
The Bologna court ruled that Serhii Kuznietsov, who German prosecutors said employed false identity documents to secure a yacht from Rostock to conduct the operation, must face charges in Germany, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The defendant faces as much as 15 years behind bars if a German court convicts him, the ruling said.
His attorney Nicola Canestrini announced that he plans to appeal to Italy’s Court of Cassation, which should rule within a month.
Kuznietsov, arrested on a German warrant in August, denied involvement and claimed he was in Ukraine when the September 2022 explosions damaged the pipelines connecting Russia to Europe, according to Canestrini. German authorities allegedly identified a Ukrainian cell containing five men and one woman as being behind the operation. (RELATED: Intel On Pro-Ukraine Sabotage Of Nord Stream Pipeline Is Far From Conclusive, Experts Say)
Ukrainian Serhii Kuznietsov has been arrested in Italy on a German arrest order by suspicion of coordinating the explosion of Nord Stream gas pipeline in September 2022.
During the court session, he said he didn’t agree to being extradited to Germany and asked for a Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/DPkItZWxxt
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 22, 2025
The defense team argued Kuznietsov deserved functional immunity under international law even if he was connected to the operation, according to the court’s ruling. This was allegedly because he served under Ukrainian military orders as the charges stood.
Canestrini claimed the “military nature of the alleged acts entails functional immunity” within international law, AFP reported. Kuznietsov’s status as “a member of the Ukraine armed forces at the relevant time… (also) cannot be disregarded,” the lawyer continued.
“Kuznietsov was not allowed to personally attend his own hearings and was denied full access to the German case file, in clear breach of the right to a fair trial,” Canestrini said.
His defense team also contended that the pipelines constituted legitimate wartime targets during wartime, according to the court’s ruling. The court rejected these arguments, arguing that the German arrest warrant did not mention any military role and whether or not the alleged acts represented sabotage was beyond its purview.
Canestrini alleged “serious violations of our client’s fundamental rights” when declaring his client would appeal and claimed “the interpretation (translation) provided during the hearings was wholly inadequate, severely impairing the effectiveness of the defence.”
Kuznietsov remains behind bars in northern Italy while the legal matter continues, AFP reported. The pipelines, which played a role in concerns over German and broader European dependence on Russian energy, were not operational when the explosions occurred. An extension, the Nord Stream 2, was finished shortly before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and was never used.
