Ukrainian detained in Poland over Nord Stream pipeline explosions

The Guardian reported.

The suspect, identified only as Volodymyr Z under Polish privacy rules, was detained in Pruszków, near Warsaw, on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities. He was later transferred to the Warsaw district prosecutor’s office, spokesperson Piotr Antoni Skiba said.

Polish radio station RMF FM, which first reported the arrest, said the man was a diving instructor who allegedly sailed to the Baltic Sea on a yacht in September 2022, dove underwater and placed explosives on the pipelines.

German prosecutors have not commented publicly on the arrest.

The detention follows the arrest of another Ukrainian man in Italy last month in connection with the same case.

Volodymyr Z’s lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, questioned whether charges should be brought. 

“Considering the full-scale war in Ukraine and the fact that Nord Stream is owned by Russia’s Gazprom, which finances these activities, the defence currently does not see any possibility of pressing charges against anyone who participated in these events,” he told RMF FM.

Paprocki said it remained unclear whether his client was involved in the sabotage, and stressed the defense would fight extradition to Germany.

The Nord Stream pipelines, built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, were crippled by undersea explosions on September 26, 2022. The blasts heightened tensions in Europe as countries scrambled to reduce reliance on Russian energy following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.