Overview
- German investigators, as detailed by the Wall Street Journal, allege an elite Ukrainian military unit under then‑commander Valeriy Zaluzhny directed the 2022 pipeline sabotage.
- The purported motive, according to prosecutors’ reconstruction, was to cut Russian revenue and weaken economic links with Germany.
- Magistrates issued warrants for three special‑forces soldiers and four veteran divers after tracing the chartered yacht Andromeda from Rostock across Baltic waters.
- A grainy German speed‑camera photo matched via commercial facial recognition helped identify a diver, leading to other suspects through phone, license‑plate, and online account data.
- Serhii Kuznietsov, described as the unit’s commander, was arrested in Italy in August, remains in high‑security detention on hunger strike, and is contesting extradition as courts there review defense appeals; political reactions across Europe include Poland declining to extradite a suspect and debates in Germany over support for Kyiv.