Warsaw prosecutors confirmed the arrest of a Ukrainian man sought by Germany for his alleged involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions.
The suspect, identified by his lawyer as Volodymyr Z., was apprehended in Poland under a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities.
According to reports from The Washington Post, German officials describe him as a “trained diver” who participated in placing explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which connects Russia and Germany.
The Associated Press noted that Polish authorities had previously attempted to arrest the suspect last year, but he had fled to Ukraine before they could detain him.
On social media, People’s Daily, China, shared news of the arrest, stating that the suspect went underwater to plant explosives on the submarine pipeline in September 2022.
Volodymyr Z.’s attorney, Tymoteusz Paprocki, confirmed his arrest, stating, “I can confirm that this morning in a village near Warsaw, my friend Volodymyr Z. was arrested by the police. My client does not agree with this and says he’s not guilty.”
German prosecutors allege that the suspect was part of a team that rented a sailing yacht using false identities near Rostock, Germany, to reach the island of Bornholm. There, they conducted dives to plant explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream pipelines, which were subsequently detonated.
Initially, European leaders blamed the explosions on Russia without providing evidence. Recently, it was reported that another Ukrainian man, identified only as Serhii K. due to German privacy laws, was arrested in Italy in connection with the Nord Stream sabotage.
