ukrainian Diver Suspected in Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts Arrested in Poland
Warsaw, Poland - Polish authorities have detained a Ukrainian national, identified as Volodymyr Z., on a European Arrest Warrant issued by German prosecutors in connection wiht the 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 adn Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The arrest, made in Pruszkow, south-east of warsaw, was confirmed by Piotr Antoni Skiba, a spokesman for the Warsaw district prosecutor’s office, on Tuesday.
German prosecutors allege Volodymyr Z. was part of a group responsible for placing explosive devices on the pipelines, which detonated on September 26, 2022. He is suspected of participating in the dives necessary to carry out the operation and of jointly causing an explosion, constituting “anti-constitutional sabotage… and destruction of buildings.”
“He is currently being investigated for the execution of a european Arrest Warrant,” Skiba stated.
Volodymyr Z.’s lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, announced the detention and indicated plans to challenge his extradition to Germany. Paprocki argued the warrant is inadmissible given the ongoing war in Ukraine,stating,”The attack on Nord Stream infrastructure concerns one of the pipeline’s owners,Gazprom,which directly finances the military operations in Ukraine.”
This arrest marks the latest development in the ongoing investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline blasts, which occurred when Europe was facing an energy crisis exacerbated by Russia’s suspension of gas supplies. Nord Stream 2 never began operation.
Another Ukrainian national, Serhii K, was previously detained in Italy last month and is accused of playing a coordinating role in the blasts. His extradition to Germany was initially cleared by a court in Bologna, but his lawyer has appealed the decision to Italy’s highest court of appeal.
Investigators believe both suspects were part of a team that utilized a yacht named Andromeda, sailing from the German port of Rostock into the baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. The yacht was reportedly rented from a German company using forged identity documents and intermediaries.
German reports indicate that seven suspects have been identified in connection with the blasts, though one has since died. The group reportedly included former members of a private diving school in Kyiv.
While Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all launched investigations, the swedish and Danish inquiries were closed in February without identifying any suspects. To date, there is no evidence linking ukraine, Russia, or any other state directly to the attacks.
