A court in Poland has decided not to extradite a Ukrainian citizen whom Germany suspects of involvement in the explosions of the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines. The Warsaw District Court also ordered the release of the Ukrainian from custody, international media reported on October 17.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Arguments of the Parties and Poland’s Position
The defense of the detained Ukrainian, lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki, emphasized that the court rejected all evidence presented in the case of Volodymyr Zh. In response to questions about the possibility of prosecuting Ukrainian citizens in such cases, Paprocki stated:
“No Ukrainian citizen can be accused or ultimately convicted for any actions against Russia.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk supported the court’s decision, stressing that the court denied the extradition of the Ukrainian suspected of the Nord Stream-2 explosion and released him from custody, calling it a fair decision.
Previously, Tusk had expressed the position that Poland had no intention of extraditing the Ukrainian whom Germany suspects of involvement in the explosions on the pipelines.
Investigation of the Nord Stream Explosion and Suspects
The detention of the Ukrainian citizen in Poland became known at the end of September. The suspect claims that he has no connection to the explosion and was in Ukraine at the time of the incident. This is the second case of the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen in this matter: a similar arrest occurred in Italy in September.
According to German publications Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and ARD, the investigation believes that the identities of all members of the so-called “diversion group” have been established, and all of them are Ukrainian citizens. Among the suspects are four divers (one of whom is a woman, a record-holder in deep-sea diving in Ukraine), an explosives expert, a skipper, and a coordinator. According to media reports, Germany has issued six arrest warrants, and the seventh suspect is a Ukrainian serviceman who trained in Germany and is believed to have died on the front in Ukraine.
In September 2022, explosions occurred near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, resulting in the destruction of three of the four strands of the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 pipelines. The pipeline, intended for transporting Russian gas to Western Europe, is not subject to restoration. Investigations conducted by Sweden, Denmark, and Germany confirmed that the damage to the pipelines was caused by explosions, but the identities of those responsible have not yet been officially identified.
Russia has refused to participate in the investigation, instead placing the blame on the United States and its allies, who categorically deny any involvement. Some Western media have speculated about the organization of the explosions by individuals linked to Ukrainian intelligence services; however, official Kyiv rejects these accusations.
The Nord Stream is under sanctions from the European Union due to its recognition as a potential tool for political pressure by Moscow on EU countries.