The long-running legal saga surrounding the Nord Stream explosions took a dramatic step forward on Wednesday. Italy's Corte di Cassazione ( Court of Cassation ) has rejected the final appeal lodged on behalf of Serhii Kuznetsov, the 49-year-old former Ukrainian military officer wanted in Germany for his alleged role in the 2022 pipeline sabotage. With the ruling now definitive, Kuznetsov is expected to be handed over to German authorities within days, escorted by officers of the Bundespolizei.

Nicola Canestrini, Kuznetsov's defence attorney, though resigned to the court's decision, struck a defiant tone: the real fight begins in Germany, he insisted, where, for the first time, the legal team hopes to gain full access to an investigative dossier they say was "systematically denied" during proceedings in Italy.