Italy’s judicial system reversed course, again, on Wednesday and allowed for the extradition to Germany of the detained Ukrainian suspect in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline explosions.
Serhiy Kuznetsov has been held in Italy ever since he was arrested on charges of placing explosives on the underwater pipelines linking Russia with Europe in September 2022, about six months after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany has petitioned Rome to allow him to face charges there, however Italy’s top appeals court rejected that extradition request on the grounds that his arrest warrant was illegal.
His defense lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, had successfully argued that, among other irregularities, Kuznetsov was member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the time, and therefore his alleged actions must be considered part of his active duty, and therefore does not meet the legal definition of sabotage.
But the wheels of justice in Italy turn notoriously slowly as defendants and the state are entitled to numerous appeals, and indeed the Court of Cassation approved the transfer following a review, and Kuznetsov “will therefore be surrendered to Germany within the next few days,” Canestrini said.
The Ukrainian faces up to 15 years in German prison cells if found guilty. German investigations have identified a Ukrainian cell of four other men and one woman as the alleged masterminds behind the blasts that were intended to put a halt to any future Russian gas flows to Europe through that pipeline.
German prosecutors accused Kuznetsov of using falsified documents to charter a yacht from the German city of Rostock to carry out the attacks.
One of those suspects, whose name was released as only Volodymyr Z and was described as a diving instructor, was arrested in a Warsaw suburb on Sept. 30, but a Polish court in mid-October also refused to turn him over to German authorities.
While Canestrini admitted his frustration in the ultimate Italian verdict, he didn’t think Kuznetsov would do any jail time.
“However great the disappointment,” he said, “I remain confident in an acquittal after the full trial in Germany.”
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed in September 2021, but never entered service, and never actually delivered any gas to Germany. Berlin suspended its certification indefinitely after Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.