Poland Arrests Ukrainian Diver In Connection With Nord Stream Pipeline Explosions

A dramatic arrest in Poland could shake up one of Europe’s most controversial investigations. Authorities in Warsaw have detained a 46-year-old Ukrainian man accused by Germany of helping blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022.

German prosecutors say the suspect — identified as Volodymyr Z. — is a trained diver who planted explosives on the pipelines using a yacht rented with fake documents. He now faces charges of sabotage and destruction of critical infrastructure, carrying severe penalties.

Charges against him include “anti-constitutional sabotage, destruction of property, and destruction of structures,” which in German law carry serious penalties.

Poland plans to hold him for at least a week while preparing extradition. His lawyer vows to fight it, arguing that prosecuting someone for actions against a Russian-owned pipeline during wartime may raise legal and ethical issues.

The French newspaper Le Monde reports:

In September 2022, seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a series of blasts under the Baltic Sea damaged three of four Nord Stream pipelines designed to carry Russian gas to Europe. While some in the West were quick to accuse Russia of sabotaging its own export route, German investigators now believe they have identified a Ukrainian cell of five men and one woman as the perpetrators.

Polish media reports named the suspect as Volodymyr Z., not giving his complete last name. Last year, German prosecutors issued a warrant for a Volodymyr Z. – describing him as a diving instructor based in Poland. He was suspected of being one of the divers who planted the explosive devices in an operation that also involved a married couple who ran a diving school, according to public broadcaster ARD and other media.

The accused allegedly traveled to the pipeline from the German port of Rostock aboard a sailing yacht, which they had rented with the help of forged identity documents via intermediaries. If he is extradited, the accused will be brought before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, the German prosecutors said.

The case is diplomatically awkward for Germany and Ukraine, as Berlin and its NATO allies have backed Kyiv with cash and weapons in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his government knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines, but both Kyiv and Washington were at the time pushing Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

The Nord Stream explosions remain a geopolitical flashpoint. Sweden and Denmark ultimately closed their investigations without naming suspects, but Germany has continued to pursue the case. Earlier in the year, another Ukrainian was picked up in Italy over the same case.

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