An Italian appeals court has approved the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, setting up a further legal battle before any transfer can take place.
The Associated Press reported that the ruling was issued by an appeals court in Bologna on Tuesday and concerns Serhii Kuznietsov, who was arrested in Italy last month on a European arrest warrant. Kuznietsov has denied involvement in the sabotage. His lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, said he will appeal the decision to Italy’s Court of Cassation, which means the extradition will be delayed until the country’s highest court weighs in.
German prosecutors allege that Kuznietsov helped organize and carry out the detonation of at least four bombs placed at a depth of 70 to 80 meters in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. The AP said the explosions damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, an attack that intensified the broader energy and political fallout from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The case has also raised questions about how national courts should handle claims of military involvement and procedural fairness. The appeals court rejected a defense argument that Kuznietsov was protected by “functional immunity” because the alleged attack was carried out under military orders, according to the AP’s account of court documents. The court also accepted Germany’s request without adopting the defense’s claim that the suspect was denied rights during the process.
Canestrini argued that fundamental rights had been compromised, including the right to attend the extradition hearing in person and access to all the materials sent by Germany. He also pointed to prison conditions in Germany as part of the appeal.
Kuznietsov was detained on Aug. 21 in a campground near Rimini while on vacation with his family. During his first detention hearing, he said he was in Ukraine serving in the army as a captain when the explosions took place. The AP said the extradition papers filed by German prosecutors accuse him of organizing the operation and identify the suspected route and timing of the yacht allegedly used in the probe.
The case now moves to a higher judicial stage in Italy. The AP said a decision from the Cassation Court is expected in about a month. Until then, the extradition remains pending.
The ruling keeps alive one of the most closely watched criminal investigations linked to the Nord Stream sabotage, a case that has drawn in courts, prosecutors and governments across Europe even as the original attack remains politically explosive and legally unresolved.
The broader significance of the decision is that it advances the German request without closing off defense arguments that often matter in politically sensitive extradition cases. Questions about military status, access to documents and detention standards can all shape how quickly a transfer proceeds, especially when the suspect insists he was serving in Ukraine at the time. For now, the Italian court has sided with the German request, but the next and likely decisive step belongs to the Cassation Court.
