Ukraine war latest: Russia accused of ‘scorched earth’ tactic – as Moscow’s ambassador confronted in Romania

Italy’s top court has approved the handover of a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

The suspect, identified as Serhii K under privacy laws, will be transferred to Germany in a matter of days.

He has been fighting attempts to move him to Germany since he was detained on a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini in August.

Sky News has previously reported how Serhii K had served in Ukraine’s Secret Service and in the Ukrainian Army’s special forces.

It is not known whether he was still serving at the time of the pipeline attack in 2022 and Ukraine’s government has always denied any involvement in the explosions.

German prosecutors believe he was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022.

Serhii K and his accomplices are believed by prosecutors to have set off from Rostock on Germany’s northeastern coast in a sailing yacht to carry out the attack.

The explosions severely damaged three pipelines transporting gas from Russia to Europe. It represented a significant escalation in the Ukraine conflict and worsening of the continent’s energy supply crisis.

According to a US intelligence report leaked in 2023, a pro-Ukraine group was behind the attack. No group has ever claimed responsibility.