Nord Stream sabotage suspect remains in custody, German court rules
Serhii Kuznetsov, suspect in the Nord Stream pipeline case (Photo: Getty Images)
The Higher Criminal Court of Germany has extended the detention of Serhii Kuznetsov, the suspect in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, according to the German edition Der Spiegel.
“The Higher Criminal Court of Germany has ruled that the suspect in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage will remain in custody. In its decision, the court comments for the first time on the explosive aspects of the investigation,” the report states.
The judges noted that the pipeline explosions were carried out with a high probability at the orders of a foreign state.
The court ruling indicates that the investigation links possible involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage to Ukraine. At the same time, details of the investigation remain classified due to its sensitive nature.
The decision was made following the defense's appeal of the detention.
Extradition of Serhii Kuznetsov
As reported by RBC-Ukraine, on November 27, Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov, suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines, was extradited from Italy to Germany.
Kuznetsov had been detained in Rimini, Italy, on August 21, 2025.
The German prosecution accuses him of being part of a group that planted explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
Kuznetsov himself denies any involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
The Nord Stream explosions
On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks.
The governments of the US, the UK, and the EU classified these events as deliberate acts of sabotage.
Later, Germany issued arrest warrants for all suspects in the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage, and all were found to be Ukrainian citizens.
