Nord Stream sabotage: Germany issues arrest warrant for Ukrainian suspect
Photo: Germany has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspect (Getty Images)
Germany has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diver suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. He could have traveled from Poland to Ukraine, according to Tagesschau and DW.
Several German media outlets reported on Wednesday, August 14, that investigators suspect a Ukrainian diving instructor named Volodymyr, who had recently been living in Poland, of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
According to journalists from ARD, Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) und Die Zeit, Germany's Attorney General Jens Rommel issued the first arrest warrant for the main suspect in early June.
The investigation also suspects two other Ukrainian citizens, a man and a woman, of participating in the sabotage, possibly as divers who placed explosive charges on the pipelines.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing the National Prosecutor's Office in Poland, reports that the suspect in the pipeline sabotage has returned to Ukraine.
Polish Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Anna Adamiak stated that in June, the German authorities sent a European arrest warrant to the district prosecutor's office in Warsaw for the Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Z. "in connection with proceedings conducted against him in Germany".
"Ultimately, Volodymyr Z. was not detained because at the beginning of July, he left Polish territory, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border," the spokeswoman informed.
Nord Stream pipelines sabotage
In late September 2022, three out of four pipelines used to transport Russian gas to Europe were destroyed. The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were damaged.
Later, experts and law enforcement agencies stated that explosive devices had been planted on the pipelines that run between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Several media outlets reported on a supposed Ukrainian link to the incident, though Ukraine has denied any involvement. There was also speculation about Russian involvement.
For more details on the Nord Stream sabotage case, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
