Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream blast arrested in Poland

30/09/2025
Politics

A Ukrainian national suspected by German prosecutors of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions has been detained in Poland. His lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, confirmed that Volodymyr Z. was arrested in the town of Pruszków, just outside Warsaw, under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany. The Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office has announced that extradition proceedings are now underway, with a briefing scheduled later in the day.

Paprocki said that his client’s defence would be vigorous, stressing that given Russia’s ownership of the damaged infrastructure and its role in financing the war against Ukraine, it was difficult to view such actions as a crime.

German investigators allege that Volodymyr Z., a diving instructor, took part in the sabotage operation that destroyed three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022.

According to their findings, the group rented a yacht in the German port of Rostock using false documents, planted explosives at a depth of 80 metres in the Baltic Sea, and returned to Ukraine with the help of other accomplices.

No state or group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which cut off a key supply route for Russian gas to Europe. Moscow has accused both the United States and Ukraine, claims strongly denied by Washington and Kyiv.

German prosecutors last year obtained their first arrest warrant in the case, believed to have been issued for Volodymyr Z., who at the time was thought to be hiding in Poland.

A second suspect, 49-year-old Serhiy K., was detained in Italy last summer and is awaiting extradition to Germany, though he insists he played no role in the sabotage.

Polish prosecutors have confirmed that legal proceedings regarding the European Arrest Warrant are underway.

Interestingly, according to Rzeczpospolita, former foreign minister Radosław Sikorski once suggested he was prepared to grant asylum and even an honour to the Ukrainian national Volodymyr Z., who is suspected of blowing up the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Some sources claim that Poland may have assisted him, with reports that he lived for a long period in the Warsaw suburb of Pruszków. As Rzeczpospolita reports, he is said to have fled to Ukraine in a car with Ukrainian diplomatic plates, allegedly driven by a military attaché.

When asked for comment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied only that it “does not make a practice of confirming unofficial, second-hand information reported by journalists.”