Nord Stream sabotage - suspect arrested in Italy

Germany's highest prosecuting authority has charged him with, among other things, jointly causing an explosive device to explode and anti-constitutional sabotage. Der Spiegel previously reported on the arrest.

According to the information, the man is said to be part of a group of people who planted explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea around three years ago. "The accused was presumably one of the coordinators of the operation," the Office of the Attorney General announced.

The Ukrainian was apprehended last night in the Italian province of Rimini by officers from the Carabinieri station in Misano Adriatico. They had cooperated closely with the Service for International Police Cooperation, the statement continued. The accused is to be transferred to Germany shortly and brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, who will decide on his pre-trial detention.

Leaks in pipes

Several explosions damaged and disrupted the two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 at the end of September 2022. The explosions were recorded near Bornholm. Shortly afterwards, four leaks were discovered in three of the four Nord Stream pipelines. Russian natural gas had previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1. Nord Stream 2 was not in operation due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent political disputes.

After the crime, the question quickly arose as to how the explosives had been planted to damage the pipelines. Experts considered it likely that trained divers could have planted explosive devices at the sites. The authorities in several countries began investigations after the attack. However, Denmark and Sweden discontinued the proceedings.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has now stated that the accused and his accomplices used a sailing yacht that set off from the German Baltic Sea city of Rostock for the transportation. The yacht had previously been rented from a German company via intermediaries with the help of forged identity documents.