Germany demands arrest of Ukrainian diver for sabotage

Germany: Germany has issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor for alleged involvement in the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, according to media. German investigators believe Volodymyr Z. was a member of the team that planted explosive devices on a pipeline route carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany in September 2022, German media reported on Wednesday. German law does not allow the publication of the suspect’s surname Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly denied that his country carried out the sabotage, which disrupted Russian gas exports to the European Union, causing huge losses to Moscow’s energy revenues. Volodymyr Z. was last known to have lived in Poland, according to a report by the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers and the ARD public broadcaster, which cited unnamed sources. The Polish prosecutor’s office confirmed on Wednesday that it had received a German arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man “Volodymyr Z.” suspected in the Nord Stream attack.

It said it had received the warrant in June,

but the suspect moved to Ukraine last month. It also said authorities had failed to prevent him from leaving because the relevant information had not reached the country’s border guards. Germany’s investigation has identified another man and a woman who, like Volodymyr Z., are also Ukrainian diving instructors. However, no arrest warrant has been issued for them at the moment, according to German media reports. On September 26, 2022, multiple explosions damaged two gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2. The explosions were recorded near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Four leaks were discovered soon after. Russian natural gas previously flowed to Germany via Nord Stream 1, which had a capacity of 63 billion cubic metres (82.4 billion cubic yards) per year. Nord Stream 2, of a similar size, had not yet become operational. The route was created to divert Russian gas exports to the EU away from Ukraine’s pipelines, on which they were previously heavily dependent. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and subsequent political disputes nearly wiped out trade, but Russia’s gas sales to the EU were by far the country’s most lucrative. Russia and the West accused each other of being behind the Nord Stream explosions. Both have denied involvement and none have claimed responsibility.