Germany issues first arrest warrant for Nord Stream bombing to Ukrainian suspect

German Attorney General Jens Rommel has issued the first arrest warrant on suspicion of involvement in bombing the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The suspect turned out to be a Ukrainian, writes Tagesschau.

Overall, three Ukrainian diving instructors – two men and a woman – are suspected of sabotage. All of them are outside Germany.

The warrant for the arrest of one of them – Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Z. – was issued back in June, the German outlets Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit and ARD revealed. The investigation believes that he and his accomplices could have attached explosives to gas pipelines. Recently, the man lived in Poland near Warsaw.

According to the investigation, he was one of the passengers in a white Citroën that was recorded near Rügen overnight on September 7, 2022. The car is believed to have taken the crew to the Andromeda yacht, which was transporting divers to the detonation sites. The man was identified by a photo and witness statements. This evidence was enough to issue an arrest warrant.

According to journalists, the trio of suspects, in addition to Volodymyr Z., includes a couple who run a diving school in Ukraine – Yevhen U. and his wife Svitlana. Z. probably worked there as a diving instructor and may still be working there. The Ukrainian couple's company regularly offers diving tours abroad.

It is reported that the journalists called Z. and he was surprised by the accusation and denied his involvement in the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.

In June, German prosecutors appealed to the Polish authorities with a European arrest warrant for the suspect, but did not receive a response. Under the general rules of the European arrest warrant, which Germany and Poland consider binding, the arrest was expected within 60 days without further review by Poland. This term has already passed.

In September 2022 , explosions occurred on the route of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, after which three of the four threads of the pipeline became unusable.

The New York Times, citing American intelligence sources, reported that sabotage of gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was allegedly carried out by pro-Ukrainian groups. The US National Security Council has not confirmed this data.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called this version ridiculous.