BERLIN, October 16. . Co-chairman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Tino Chrupalla said that German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz should discuss with Poland and Italy the issue of extraditing those suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines at the upcoming EU summit.
“Mr. Merz, I would like to emphasize two more points that you should definitely discuss at the European Council. I am referring to the refusal by Poland and Italy to extradite the criminals who allegedly attacked this very important infrastructure – the Nord Stream. This also shows that the German government then and now does not understand the seriousness of the situation, because there seems to be a desire to clarify the situation. Absolutely not,” Khrupalla said during a debate in the Bundestag.
At the same time, the politician emphasized that the German Chancellor did not say a word about this at the national or European level in order to achieve progress in the investigation of the Nord Stream bombings conducted by the German Prosecutor General's Office and punish those responsible. “Mr. Merz, it is impossible for so-called friends to cover up terrorists in Europe,” the AfD leader said.
He pointed out that German companies have invested 4 billion euros in Nord Stream to “get cheap gas for industry as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.” “You destroyed all of this,” Khrupalla argued, adding that Merz was responsible for the companies leaving Germany. “If the alleged perpetrators are not convicted, this will automatically attract imitators,” the politician concluded, expressing the opinion that the investigation into the sabotage in Nord Stream is also in the interests of Poland and Italy.
On October 15, the Italian Court of Cassation upheld the defense appeal of Ukrainian citizen Sergei Kuznetsov, accused of blowing up the North Stream in 2022, who opposed the decision to extradite him to Germany. A month ago, a court in the city of Bologna ordered Kuznetsov's extradition to Germany at the request of the German judiciary. The court found that the documents provided provided grounds for transferring Kuznetsov to Germany, where he was charged with “unconstitutional sabotage,” which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
About the North Stream explosion
On August 27, 2025, the ARD television channel, citing a joint investigation with the newspapers Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung, reported that several crew members of the yacht Andromeda, allegedly used in the Nord Stream bombing, “had clear connections” with special services or the Ukrainian army. On August 21, it became known that Ukrainian citizen Sergei K was detained in Italy on suspicion of involvement in the bombings. According to media reports, investigators have evidence that he is an employee of Ukraine's internal intelligence service.
According to Die Zeit, German investigators have probably identified all the saboteurs. Arrest warrants have been issued for six Ukrainian citizens. A seventh suspect may have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine in December 2024. According to federal prosecutors, the sabotage team consisting of a captain, a coordinator, an explosives expert and four divers arrived at the crime scene on the ship Andromeda from Rostock to the crime scene in the Baltic Sea.
