Suspect in Nord Stream Bombing Arrested in Poland

Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Z., suspected of involvement in the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, was detained in Poland.

The Polish media RFM24 reported on this.

Police detained Ukrainian diving instructor Volodymyr Z. in Pruszków and took him to the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw. Extradition proceedings are expected to start soon.

“Now, we are waiting for the official schedule of procedural actions against my client, as well as information about the intention of the German justice system to charge him. This will be forwarded to the district prosecutor’s office,” lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki shared.

He noted that it is not yet known whether his client participated in this sabotage operation. The court will make the decision on extradition.

In August, German media reported that Volodymyr Z. had recently been residing near Warsaw. In early June 2024, the German prosecutor’s office issued a European arrest warrant to Poland, but the Polish authorities did not arrest the individual.

Anna Adamiak, the spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office, noted at the time that “the Polish prosecutor’s office, having received an arrest warrant, had to confirm his whereabouts, but Vladimir Z. left the territory of Poland.”

This is the second detention of those accused of sabotage on the gas pipeline, after a Ukrainian named Serhiy K. was arrested in Italy last month. Carabinieri, in cooperation with Interpol, detained him in the province of Rimini.

According to German prosecutors, Serhiy K. was part of a group that planted explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Law enforcement officials believe that he was one of the coordinators of the operation.

The investigation revealed that the suspects had used a sailing yacht rented from a German company via intermediaries and forged documents.

The explosion occurred on September 26, 2022. As a result of the sabotage, both gas pipelines were severely damaged, with three of the four lines destroyed.

Germany is awaiting the extradition of the detainee from Italy. Other details of the investigation have not yet been disclosed.