FRANKFURT (Reuters) -A Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022 will be flown to Germany on Thursday after Italy’s top court approved his extradition last week, a spokesperson for Germany’s federal prosecutors said.
Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, explosions in the Baltic Sea three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent, although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.
Investigators spent years piecing together the mystery of who was behind them.
SUSPECT DENIES ROLE IN ATTACKS
The suspect, identified as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, denies any role in the attacks. His lawyer Nicola Canestrini has said he is confident that his client will be acquitted after a trial in Germany.
German prosecutors accuse him of belonging to a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic.
He faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.
The suspect was detained on a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini in August but fought attempts to transfer him to Germany.
Last month, a court in Poland ruled against handing over another Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the explosions and ordered his immediate release from detention.
(Reporting by Tilman BlasshoferWriting by Madeline ChambersEditing by Ludwig Burger)
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