Germany Poland: European arrest warrant for Nord Stream attack

In connection with the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the Polish public prosecutor's office has received a European arrest warrant from the federal prosecutor's office in Germany for the arrest of a suspect. A spokeswoman for the General Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw told the German Press Agency.

The suspect is therefore Volodymyr Z., a Ukrainian citizen who was last in Poland. However, the investigators had not found him at his place of residence, the spokeswoman for the Polish Public Prosecutor General's Office added. "The man crossed the border between Poland and Ukraine at the beginning of July."

No entry in the Schengen list of wanted persons

This was possible because the German side did not make an entry in the Schengen register, in which those wanted on European arrest warrants are listed. "Volodymyr Z. crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border before he was arrested, and the Polish border guards had neither the information nor the basis to arrest him, as he was not listed as a wanted person," the spokeswoman said.

Earlier, "Die Zeit", ARD and the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had reported that the Federal Prosecutor General had obtained an arrest warrant from the Federal Court of Justice in the sabotage case. "We are not commenting on the media reports," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office could not initially be reached for comment.

The two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 were damaged and interrupted by several explosions on September 26, 2022. The explosions were registered near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and four leaks were discovered shortly afterwards in three of the four Nord Stream pipelines. Russian natural gas had previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1. Nord Stream 2 was not yet in operation due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent political disputes. The authorities in several countries began investigating the case. However, Denmark and Sweden have since discontinued the proceedings. Several speculations about the perpetrators circulated for a long time.

Other suspects

According to research by the three media outlets, two other Ukrainian nationals are also suspected of the crime - including a woman. According to the reports, they were involved in the attacks. They could have been divers who planted the explosive devices on the pipelines, it was further reported. The information now published is therefore also based on "information from a foreign intelligence service".

Previous investigations had focused on a sailing yacht on which traces of explosives were discovered in July 2023. It was suspected that the "Andromeda" may have been used to transport the explosives for the sabotage.