Italian police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the months that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The explosions nearly three years ago left gas billowing from Nord Stream 1 and 2 – two major conduits that transported Russian gas to Europe – and prompted a huge operation to find who was responsible.
The origin of the explosions has been a subject of intense speculation and further stoked political tensions in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Neither of the pipelines were actively transporting gas to Europe at the time of the leaks, though they still held gas under pressure, and both Ukraine and Russia denied any involvement.
Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office announced the arrest. In a statement they said that the suspect, named only as Serhii K under German privacy laws, “belongs to a group of people who planted explosive devices in the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 near the island of Bornholm in September 2022.”
Italian police confirmed the arrest of the suspect in Rimini, northern Italy, but gave few other details. He will be brought before a German judge after being extradited.
The suspect and his accomplices used a sailing yacht to carry out the attack, traveling from the port of Rostock, German prosecutors said, adding that the vessel had been rented from a German company via intermediaries using forged identity documents.
The breakthrough comes after German authorities in August 2024 issued an international arrest warrant for another Ukrainian man suspected of causing damage to the pipelines.
German media reported at that time that investigations had honed in on a six-person crew, including five men and one woman.
During their voyage, the crew is reportedly suspected of diving into the Baltic Sea and attaching explosives to the massive Nord Stream pipelines, which subsequently detonated and damaged both lines, according to the outlets ARD, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Denmark and Sweden both investigated the attack but closed their inquiries in 2024, leaving Germany the only country chasing the case.
This story has been updated.