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On November 28, Germany’s Federal Court arrested Ukrainian citizen Serhiy Kuznetsov, who Berlin suspects of involvement in the explosions of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.
According to a press release from Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office, an investigating judge at the Federal Court issued an arrest warrant on November 28, 2025, for “Ukrainian citizen Serhiy K.,” believed to be Kuznetsov. The warrant was issued in connection with the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline.
The statement confirmed that the warrant was “executed” and that Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy and extradited to Germany on November 27, 2025. No further details were provided by the prosecutor’s office.
Background on the Nord Stream explosions
The Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were blown up on September 26, 2022, roughly six months after Russia invaded Ukraine. The explosions completely disabled both pipelines.
In August 2025, Italy detained 49-year-old Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, a former special forces serviceman. Germany accused him and another Ukrainian, Volodymyr Z., of allegedly organizing the pipeline explosions.
However, Poland, where Volodymyr Z. was located at the time, refused to extradite him to Germany. Warsaw stated that if he indeed carried out the sabotage, he should be considered a hero, not a criminal. Volodymyr was detained for seven days and then released.
Kuznetsov, unfortunately, was not as fortunate. Despite Ukraine’s request to Italy to release him immediately, on November 19, the Italian court decided to extradite him to Germany. His extradition was carried out on November 27.
