On October 6, the Warsaw Court extended the detention of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zh., whom the German prosecutorʼs office accuses of undermining the “Nord Stream 1” and “Nord Stream 2” gas pipelines in 2022.
This is reported by the Polish media Onet News, citing the words of the detaineeʼs lawyer.
The Ukrainian will be in custody for another 40 days.
"The decision to extend the term of detention of Mr. Volodymyr Zh., unfortunately, did not come as a surprise to us. I would like to emphasize that the court extended the term of detention not for 100 days, but for 40 days," said Volodymyrʼs lawyer.
He also stressed that the actions of the Polish judiciary are "very conservative" and "will have consequences".
"This is a situation in which the justice system faces the challenge of maintaining a balance between human rights and external pressure," the suspectʼs lawyer said in a statement.
Volodymyr Zh. was detained in Poland on September 30. 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. He was arrested on October 1.
“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 Valerii Zaluzhnyi 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 Zaluzhnyi continued the operation despite this.
On August 26, 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the bombing. Ukrainian Serhii 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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