Nord Stream blast suspect remanded in custody in Germany

The suspected mastermind of the Nord Stream pipeline attacks in 2022 was remanded in custody in Germany on Friday after his extradition from Italy.

Ukrainian national Serhij K, who cannot be named in full due to German privacy laws, was ordered into detention by a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, a spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

The attacks on the German-Russian prestige project made headlines around the world in autumn 2022. Several explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea damaged the two pipelines to such an extent that gas could no longer be transported through them.

Russian natural gas had previously flowed through Nord Stream 1 to Germany. Nord Stream 2 was completed shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, and was never put into operation.

No one has yet been brought to justice for the attacks.

Serhij K, 49, was detained at the end of August while on holiday with his family on the Adriatic coast. He fought his extradition through legal channels and also went on hunger strike due to alleged mistreatment.

Last week, Italy's supreme court gave the green light for his extradition. He was handed over to the German authorities on Thursday.

German prosecutors accuse the man of jointly causing the explosions on the Baltic Sea gas pipelines in 2022. According to the prosecutors, he was one of the coordinators of the operation. He denies the allegations.

Investigators say that the team of seven suspects also included four divers.

One of the divers allegedly involved was being held in custody in Poland. However, judges there rejected Germany's extradition request and he has since been released.