Italian press shares picture of Nord Stream sabotage suspect

(MENAFN) Italian outlets have published what they claim is an image of Sergey Kuznetsov, a 49-year-old Ukrainian man arrested on Thursday for suspected involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.

The photo, shared by La Stampa and Open Online, appears to be either an ID document or a police photofit, though its origin has not been disclosed. Kuznetsov was detained near Rimini under a European arrest warrant issued by German prosecutors earlier this month.

Investigators allege that he led the team that planted explosives on the pipelines near Denmark’s Bornholm Island in September 2022, disabling three of the four Nord Stream lines. He is accused of overseeing divers who deployed the explosives from a yacht rented in Rostock, Germany, using forged documents.

Italian reports say Kuznetsov entered the country under the alias “Serhii Kulinic” with his family, traveling via a tour booked through Booking.com. His presence was flagged after hotel records triggered an Interpol alert. Upon arrest, he surrendered without resistance, handing over documents, electronics, and bank cards.

Kuznetsov faces charges in Germany for sabotage, destruction of infrastructure, and causing an explosion—offenses carrying up to 15 years in prison. He is expected to appear before the Bologna Court of Appeal to confirm his detention and schedule extradition. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Genoa are separately investigating him for possible links to a February bombing that damaged the Seajewel, a Maltese-flagged tanker.

The Nord Stream blasts were widely seen as a major strike on Europe’s energy security during the Ukraine conflict. The attack has been surrounded by controversy: US President Joe Biden had previously warned in 2022 that Nord Stream would end if Russia invaded Ukraine, while journalist Seymour Hersh later claimed the US ordered the sabotage—an allegation dismissed by Washington.

Independent Swedish investigator Erik Andersson has argued that the attack appears to be part of a broader strategy to sever Europe from Russian energy, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has mocked theories suggesting a small team of divers could have pulled off the operation.

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