A Ukrainian named Volodymyr, whom Germany suspects of undermining Nord Stream, was detained in Poland.
This is reported by a correspondent of the Polish media RMF FM.
According to the German investigation, he is a diving instructor and in September 2022 went to the Baltic Sea on a yacht from Rostock, after which he went underwater and installed explosive charges on an underwater pipeline.
The man was wanted on a European arrest warrant issued by a German court. The Ukrainian was detained in the city of Pruszków, near Warsaw. He has now been transferred to the district prosecutorʼs office in Warsaw.
Volodymyrʼs lawyer said that, in the defenseʼs opinion, there are no grounds for his clientʼs extradition to Germany. He noted that it is currently unknown whether he participated in the sabotage operation.
The lawyer added that he is awaiting an official plan of procedural actions regarding his client and information about the German justice systemʼs intention to bring charges against him, which will then be forwarded to the district prosecutorʼs office.
After that, the extradition procedure will begin, but it is not yet known whether the Ukrainian will be handed over to the German justice system. The decision will be made by the court, and Volodymyrʼs defense will try to prevent extradition.
Nord Stream explosions
On September 26, 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks. Only one of the four strands of the pipeline remained intact.
The US, UK and EU governments have declared a deliberate sabotage. Russia believes that the US and its allies are interested in the bombings. Western and Russian media have written about different versions — from sabotage by the Russians themselves to the involvement of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied Ukraineʼs involvement in the sabotage.
Germany is investigating the role of former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, as reported by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal. Zelensky allegedly initially approved the plan, but later ordered it canceled, and Zaluzhny continued the operation despite this.
On August 26, 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the bombing. Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was detained in Italy and suspected of involvement in the sabotage, denies the charges. An Italian court allowed his extradition to Germany.
- In November 2024, the German newspaper Der Spiegel published an investigation that stated that the saboteurs who sabotaged Nord Stream also planned to blow up TurkStream in the Black Sea, but they failed.
- In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage due to lack of jurisdiction. Following Sweden, Denmark also closed its investigation.
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