Poland Arrests Ukrainian Suspect in 2022 Nord Stream Pipeline Explosions

A Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions has been arrested in Poland, according to a spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. The individual, identified as Volodymyr Z., was detained in Pruszków, central Poland, and subsequently transferred to prosecutors in Warsaw. The arrest was made on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities.

This marks the second arrest of a Ukrainian national in connection with the undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in September 2022. Last month, another Ukrainian man was arrested in Italy in relation to the same incident.

The explosions, which occurred on September 26, 2022, severely damaged the pipelines built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The incident heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine, as European countries sought to reduce their reliance on Russian energy sources following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to reports, German authorities allege that Volodymyr Z., a diving instructor, sailed to the Baltic Sea on a yacht in September 2022, from which he dove underwater and placed explosives on the pipeline. His lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, stated that the defense does not currently see any possibility of pressing charges against anyone who participated in these events, considering the full-scale war in Ukraine and the fact that Nord Stream is owned by the Russian company Gazprom. Paprocki also mentioned that it is uncertain whether his client was involved in the sabotage and that the defense would contest extradition.

The German federal prosecutor's office has not yet commented on the arrest.