Ukrainian, suspected by Germany of involvement in Nord Stream disruption, detained in Poland – media

A Ukrainian citizen and diving instructor, suspected by Germany of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, has been detained in Poland on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by a German court, according to the Polish news portal RMF FM.

"Volodymyr Z. was captured by police in Pruszków. He is currently being held at the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw. Extradition proceedings are expected to begin soon," the message says, without specifying the Ukrainian's full name.

The detainee's lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, believes there are no grounds for extraditing him to German justice. "Considering the full-scale war in Ukraine and the fact that Nord Stream is owned by the Russian company Gazprom, which is financing these actions, the defense currently sees no opportunity to bring charges against anyone involved in these actions," he told the publication.

At the same time, he noted that there is no certainty yet whether his client took part in this sabotage operation.

German intelligence agencies believe the detainee was directly involved in the gas pipeline bombing, the publication reports. As a diving instructor, he was allegedly scheduled to sail a yacht from Rostock to the Baltic Sea in September 2022, then dive and plant explosive devices on an underwater pipeline.

In August, German media reported that Volodymyr Z. was living near Warsaw, and that in early June 2024, the German prosecutor's office had sent a European arrest warrant to Poland, but Polish intelligence agencies failed to apprehend him. Anna Adamiak, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's Office, stated after publications in German media that "after receiving the European arrest warrant, the Polish prosecutor's office had to confirm his whereabouts; Volodymyr Z. had left Poland."

The publication also notes that the coordinator of the action was previously detained in Rimini, Italy, and his accomplices are still being sought.

As reported, on September 16, the Bologna Court of Appeal (Italy) upheld the extradition to Germany of former Ukrainian captain Serhiy Kuznetsov, who is accused of blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. His lawyer immediately filed an appeal. He stated in court that he was in Ukraine on the day of the pipeline explosions.

Kuznetsov, 49, was arrested on August 21 on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by the German Federal Court of Justice at a country hotel in San Clemente near the Italian city of Rimini after checking in.

The twin-pipe Nord Stream 1 pipeline, running through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, with a total capacity of over 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, was commissioned in 2011-2012. The parallel Nord Stream 2 was intended to transport a similar volume of gas; however, despite its completion, it never entered service due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In September 2022, an explosion depressurized two lines of Nord Stream 1 and one of Nord Stream 2 near the Danish island of Bornholm. Russia has opened a criminal case under the article on international terrorism. Germany is also continuing its investigation into the explosions, while Sweden closed its investigation in February 2024.