Polish court refuses to extradite Ukrainian suspected of Nord Stream bombing to Germany

On Friday, October 17, a court in Warsaw refused to extradite Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlev, suspected of involvement in the explosions on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, to Germany and released him from custody, reports Onet.

Zhuravlev was detained in Poland in late September. The court arrested him first for seven days, and then extended his arrest for another 40.

The Ukrainian's lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki told reporters that the defense provided two key arguments for refusing extradition.

The first argument, according to the lawyer, is that the Ukrainian will not receive a fair trial in Germany, because, as he noted, "the German judicial system is not independent, and judges do not have material immunity." Paprocki recalled the 2021 case when a German judge was convicted for a decision he made. In this context, he drew attention to the fact that his client was being prosecuted for the destruction of Germany's critical infrastructure.

The second argument concerns functional immunity.

"If there is an armed conflict and hostilities are ongoing, it is obvious that not only the military but also civilians are involved. If the institutions of the European Union recognize Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 as Russia's military infrastructure – as stated in the decision of the EU Council – then how can any citizen of Ukraine be accused of 'constitutional sabotage'?" the lawyer said.

on October 15, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the decision to extradite to Germany Ukrainian Serhiy Kuznetsov, another suspect in the Nord Stream explosions.

• The destruction of three of the four lines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, occurred on September 26, 2022. At the time, they were not working due to full-scale Russian aggression, but were filled with gas.
• The EU immediately suspected deliberate sabotage and launched an investigation. Sweden, Denmark, and Germany launched separate investigations.
• In August 2024, the WSJ published a lengthy article in which accused Ukraine of undermining the Nord Stream pipeline. The Office of the President denied Ukraine's involvement in the sabotage.
• In July 2025, the EU imposed sanctions, banning the operation of these pipelines.