A Ukrainian man who is accused of setting up the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022 was arrested in Italy. The bombing destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines that brought energy from Russia to Germany. 

The man, only identified as Serhii K, was arrested in Italy after Germany issued a warrant for his arrest on Monday. A statement from the German Prosecutor General said he was part of the team that destroyed the pipelines. 

“Serhii K. was part of a group of individuals who placed explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the island of Bornholm in September 2022. The accused was allegedly one of the coordinators of the operation.” The statement continues, “He and his accomplices used a sailing yacht departing from Rostock for the transport. The yacht had previously been rented from a German company through intermediaries using forged identification documents.”

Multiple sources have offered different theories for who destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines. Western governments and media initially blamed Russia for destroying the pipeline. However, that explanation lacked a motive as the Russian state oil firm Gazprom was the majority owner of the pipelines. 

Then, the Western government dropped the accusations against Moscow and claimed a group of Ukrainians carried out the attack. Russian officials have rejected the results of the investigations led by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. 

Russia’s Ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, responded to the arrest of Serhii by calling for an “independent investigation.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that the US played some role in the attack. 

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported speaking with sources who alleged that President Joe Biden directed the bombing. Hersh pointed to threats from President Biden and former State Department official Victoria Nuland that the US would take action against Nord Stream if Russia invaded Ukraine as Washington’s motive to carry out the attack.