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Berlin — A Ukrainian fishy has been arrested successful Italy implicit the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream state pipelines from Russia to Europe, German prosecutors said Thursday. The suspect, partially named arsenic Serhii K., is accused of being portion of a radical "who placed explosive devices connected the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 state pipelines," the prosecutors said.
He is "believed to person been 1 of the coordinators of the operation," they added.
The Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea were damaged successful September 2022 by immense underwater explosions, believed to beryllium an enactment of sabotage.
In the years since the mysterious explosions, Ukraine and Russia person some vehemently denied immoderate involvement.
An Image provided by the Danish Defense forces shows state leaking astatine the tract of the Nord Stream 2 undersea pipeline, Sept. 27, 2022, aft a sabotage attack.
Danish Defense/Anadolu Agency/Getty
German media person reported the probe pointed to a Ukrainian compartment of 5 men and 1 pistillate who had chartered the yacht "Andromeda" from the larboard of Rostock and carried retired the attack.
Their purpose was to destruct the pipelines to forestall battlefield force Russia from profiting successful aboriginal from state income to Europe, according to Der Spiegel and different media.
Serhii K. was arrested successful the aboriginal hours of Thursday successful the Italian state of Rimini, the German prosecutors said. He and his accomplices are accused of utilizing a yacht that departed Rostock to transportation retired the attack, they said.
"The yacht had antecedently been rented from a German institution with the assistance of forged individuality documents obtained done intermediaries," they added.
The quality of the apprehension comes astir 1 twelvemonth aft German media reported that a European apprehension warrant had been requested for different Ukrainian man, a diving teacher whose past known code was successful Poland, successful transportation with the onslaught connected the Nord Stream pipelines.
The Polish prosecutor's bureau told AFP successful August 2024 that it had received the warrant for the man — identified lone arsenic "Volodymyr Z." — a mates months earlier "in transportation with proceedings against him successful Germany."
The antheral near for Ukraine astatine the opening of July 2024, earlier helium could beryllium detained, the prosecutor's bureau said astatine the time.
German investigators judge Volodymyr Z. was 1 of the divers who planted explosive devices connected the pipelines, according to Germany's ARD broadcaster and newspapers Die Zeit and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
Two much Ukrainians, a antheral and a pistillate who prosecutors judge acted arsenic divers successful the attacks and are believed to beryllium a joined mates who tally a diving schoolhouse successful Ukraine, were besides identified by investigators astatine slightest a twelvemonth ago, according to the Germany reports.
The apprehension announced by the German authorities connected Thursday was the archetypal linked to the case.
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