A Ukrainian man arrested in Italy this week over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines from Russia to Europe on Friday refused to be extradited to Germany, reports said.

The 49-year-old man -- identified as Serhii K. by Italian prosecutors but named as Sehrii Kuznetsov in the media -- was detained on Thursday, accused of being part of a cell of Ukrainians who placed explosive devices on the pipeline in September 2022.

Nord Stream had long been controversial for allowing Russian gas to bypass eastern European transit routes and leaving Germany overly reliant on cheap energy from Moscow.

His was the first arrest in the case, which is politically sensitive given Russia's February 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine, and Western support for Ukraine's fightback.

Through

See Full Page