Italina media reports seven-man group behind Nord Stream assault
(MENAFN) Italian outlets have reported new details on the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, claiming the attack was carried out by a seven-member group led by a former Ukrainian security officer.
The Nord Stream pipelines, which transport Russian natural gas to Germany and Europe through the Baltic Sea, were damaged by underwater explosions near Denmark’s Bornholm Island in September 2022. Moscow has dismissed claims that such a small team could have executed the operation.
Open.Online and Il Fatto Quotidiano cited German investigators, identifying 49-year-old Sergey Kuznetsov, a veteran of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), as the alleged mastermind. The operation, reportedly code-named Operation Diameter, involved Kuznetsov leading a team of two former colleagues and four civilian divers. The group allegedly rented a yacht, the Andromeda, from Rostock, Germany, using fake documents, and outfitted it with explosives and commercial diving equipment.
On September 8, 2022, the team is said to have sailed from Wiek on Rugen Island to the area off Bornholm, where they planted at least four explosive charges, each weighing 14–27 kg, on the pipelines during nighttime dives.
Kuznetsov was arrested near Rimini, Italy, on a European arrest warrant issued by Germany and faces up to 15 years in prison on charges including anti-constitutional sabotage. German Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig called the arrest “a very impressive investigative success,” noting that one of the suspected masterminds had been captured.
It remains unclear whether Kuznetsov acted independently or under orders from Kiev. Previous reporting suggested Ukrainian President Zelensky may have approved the mission before attempting to halt it after a CIA warning. Kiev has denied any involvement.
The Nord Stream pipelines, while seriously damaged, are considered repairable. At the time of the explosions, the attack was widely seen as a blow to critical energy infrastructure amid the Ukraine conflict.
Speculation over US involvement has persisted. In February 2022, then-President Joe Biden stated that a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine could end the Nord Stream project. In 2023, journalist Seymour Hersh claimed US Navy divers had planted the explosives during NATO exercises, a report the White House called “complete fiction.” Swedish engineer Erik Andersson, who conducted an independent forensic investigation, suggested the “divers-on-a-boat” narrative may be intended to deflect attention from possible Western involvement, describing the attack as part of a broader effort to sever Europe’s energy ties with Russia.
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