first arrest was a polish national
same guy yo
czech it
A Ukrainian diving instructor has been named as a suspect in the undersea explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in 2022.
German prosecutors have issued a first arrest warrant in their investigation for a man named Volodymyr Z.
Prosecutors in neighbouring Poland said they received a warrant for a Ukrainian man, but that he left the country before he could be arrested.
Prosecutors say he was able to leave Poland as Germany failed to include his name in a database of wanted persons.
The multi-billion-dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of explosions in September 2022, seven months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
German investigators believe Volodymyr Z, a Ukrainian diver, was part of a team that planted the explosives, the SZ and Die Zeit newspapers reported alongside the ARD broadcaster, citing unnamed sources.
Gas pipeline leaks raise suspicion
Photo shows Nord stream 1Nord stream 1
The gas pipelines have been at the centre of tensions after Russia cut supply to Europe.
Polish National Public Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Anna Adamiak said German authorities sent a European warrant to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw in June for Volodymyr Z in connection with proceedings conducted against him in Germany.
"Ultimately, Volodymyr Z was not detained because at the beginning of July he left Polish territory, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border," she said.
"Free crossing of the Polish-Ukrainian border by the above-mentioned person was possible because German authorities … did not include him in the database of wanted persons, which meant that the Polish Border Guard had no knowledge and no grounds to detain Volodymyr Z."
Polish law does not allow for publication of the full name of suspects in criminal investigations.
Germany said its relationship with Ukraine was not strained by the Nord Stream inquiry.