BORNHOLM, DENMARK – SEPTEMBER 27: The Danish Ministry of Defense shows a Nord Stream 2 gas leak as seen from a Danish F-16 interceptor in Bornholm, Denmark, on September 27, 2022.
Danish Defense/ | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Poland has received a European arrest warrant from Berlin in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline attack, but the suspect has left Poland after Germany failed to add his name to a wanted criminal database, prosecutors told Reuters.
In September 2022, seven months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines costing billions to carry natural gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of explosions.
German investigators believe the Ukrainian diver was part of a team that planted explosives, SZ and Die Zeit reported together with broadcaster ARD, citing unnamed sources.
Anna Adamiak, spokesperson for the Polish State Prosecutor’s Office, said that German authorities issued a European arrest warrant to the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office in June involving Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Z. , the case is related to proceedings against him in Germany.
“Ultimately, Vladimir Z. was not detained because he left Polish territory and crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border in early July,” she wrote in an emailed statement in response to questions from Reuters.
“The above-mentioned person was able to freely cross the Polish-Ukrainian border because the German authorities… did not include him in the wanted criminal database, which means that the Polish border guards had no knowledge and no reason to detain Vladimir Z.”
Polish law does not allow the suspect’s full name to be revealed. Germany’s prosecutor general’s office declined to comment on the media reports.
Germany’s interior ministry declined to comment, and the justice ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
suspected accomplice
German investigations into the sabotage have identified another man and a woman who are also Ukrainian diving instructors, but no arrest warrants have been issued for them so far, SZ, Zeit and ARD reported.
The explosion destroyed three-quarters of the Nord Stream pipeline, which has become a controversial symbol of Germany’s dependence on Russian gas after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Russia blamed the United States, Britain and Ukraine for the explosion, which largely cut off Russian gas from lucrative European markets. The countries deny involvement.
Germany, Denmark and Sweden all launched investigations into the incident. The Swedes found traces of explosives on several items recovered from the explosion site, confirming that the explosion was intentional.
Investigations in Sweden and Denmark ended in February this year without any suspects.
In January 2023, Germany raided a ship it said might be used to transport explosives and told the United Nations it believed trained divers may have installed the device at a depth of about 70 to 80 meters (230-262 feet) on the pipeline.
