A Ukrainian man suspected of being involved in causing undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in 2022 was arrested in Poland, a spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw said Tuesday.
Volodymyr Z. was detained in Pruszkow, central Poland, according to Polish radio station RMF FM, which first reported his capture. He has been transferred to prosecutors in Warsaw.
The man, whose full name wasn’t released due to privacy rules, was detained on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities, said Piotr Antoni Skiba, a spokesperson for the Warsaw prosecutor’s office.
Tymoteusz Paprocki, the suspect’s lawyer, confirmed the arrest, according to local media and the AFP news agency.
“In the morning hours, my client was detained in one of the towns near Warsaw as a result of a European Arrest Warrant, which was issued by the German side and pertains to matters related to Nord Stream 2,” Paprocki told local broadcaster TVN24.
A spokesperson for Germany’s federal prosecutor did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
Another Ukrainian man was arrested in Italy last month in connection with the explosions on the undersea pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
“Taking into consideration the full-scale war in Ukraine and the fact that Nord Stream is owned by the Russian company Gazprom, which finances these activities, the defense currently does not see any possibility of pressing charges against anyone who participated in these events,” Tymoteusz Paprocki, Volodymyr Z.’s lawyer, told RMF FM.
The lawyer said it was not certain whether his client was involved in the sabotage act and he was awaiting official information about the intentions of the German justice system in pressing charges. The defense would fight his extradition from Poland, the lawyer said.
A handout photo provided by the Swedish coast guard shows the release of gas emanating from a leak on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea on Sept. 28, 2022. / Credit: Swedish coast guard
The undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged the Nord Stream pipelines and added to tension over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources.
According to RMF FM, German authorities say Volodymyr Z. is a diving instructor who, in September 2022, sailed to the Baltic Sea on a yacht, from which he dove underwater and placed explosives on the pipeline.
After Charlie Kirk assassination, Utah Gov. Cox urges U.S. away from division, violence
Government shutdown likely, CBS News’ Robert Costa says after conversation with Trump
