The man was arrested near Brindisi in August. He is believed to have had a coordinating role in a group that in 2022 placed explosive devices on the gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2. The verdict can however be appealed.
Several countries, including Sweden, have investigated the sabotage in the Baltic Sea. But it is Germany that has taken the leading role in the hunt for the guilty.
German newspapers have reported that a total of seven Ukrainians are suspected of being involved. One of them is however no longer alive.
The explosions occurred in late summer 2022, and were then seen as an expression of increased tensions and hybrid warfare after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Whether the accused Ukrainians have acted on behalf of someone else is so far unclear.
