The man, named Volodymyr Z., was based in Poland but has now left the country. On September 26, 2022, four massive gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions occurred on Nord Stream 1 and 2.
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The Polish prosecutor’s office confirmed on Wednesday, August 14, that it had received an arrest warrant issued by Germany for a Ukrainian man, as part of the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines at the end of September 2022. The man, named Volodymyr Z., was based in Poland but has now left the country.
A spokeswoman for the Polish Prosecutor General’s Office said that Berlin had not entered the suspect in the wanted persons register, which allowed him to return to Ukraine in early July without being stopped at the border. The lack of registration “means that the Polish border guards were not informed and had no grounds to detain Volodymyr Z.”said the spokesperson.
On Wednesday, German media reported that German prosecutors had issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspected of being involved in the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Under European mutual legal assistance rules, Polish authorities had 60 days to respond to the German request and arrest the main suspect, which they said had not been done for reasons that were not made clear.
On September 26, 2022, four massive gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions occurred within hours of each other on Nord Stream 1 and 2, pipelines connecting Russia to Germany and carrying most of Russia’s gas to Europe. The pipelines were not in operation during the leaks.