Nord Stream sabotage: Ukrainian diving instructor on the horizon, German media say – 08/14/2024 11:16

Several media outlets reported that a European arrest warrant was issued by the German Federal Prosecutor's Office last June.

(Swedish Coast Guard / Bulletin)

Several German media reported on Wednesday, August 14, that German justice has issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspected of being linked to the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Asked by AFP, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for one aspect of the investigation into the attack, declined to comment.

Doubts about the trio

The Federal Prosecutor's Office issued a European arrest warrant in June against a Ukrainian diving instructor who was then living in Poland, near Warsaw, and was identified as Volodymyr Z., the public television channel reported.

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The judiciary suspects his involvement

Along with two other Ukrainian divers, identified as Gevyn Yu and Svetlana Yu, in the operation to sabotage the gas pipeline at depth,

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The trio allegedly planted the explosives on board the sailboat “Andromeda”, which the public prosecutor’s office revealed in 2023 had opened an investigation. According to investigators, the sailboat left Rostock in Germany on the Baltic Sea, then stopped on a Danish island, Sweden and Poland.

Under European mutual legal assistance rules, Polish authorities had 60 days to respond to the German request and arrest the main suspect.

However, this did not happen, for reasons that were not made clear.

The suspect appears to have now fled.

Without knowing whether he had gone to Ukraine or not.

The German authorities were surprised internally.

Poland's lack of cooperation in this investigation,

According to German media, this raises a possible collusion that could have benefited the Ukrainian trio in this country.

In a brief phone call to German media, Volodymyr Z. denied any involvement in the attack. While Sweden and Denmark had already stopped investigating the matter at the beginning of the year, German investigators continued their investigation, specifically targeting the sailboat and Ukrainian divers.

But according to German media, there is no evidence at this stage that these suspects acted on the orders of their country's authorities, intelligence services or military. Kiev denies any responsibility for the sabotage. “I would never do that,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the German daily Bild in June 2023, adding that he “would like to see the evidence.”

In March 2023,

New York Times

It has already claimed, on the basis of information seen by US intelligence, that a “pro-Ukrainian group” would be behind the sabotage, but without the involvement of the Ukrainian president.

On September 26, 2022, four massive gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions occurred within hours of each other on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany and carry most of Russia’s gas to Europe.

The gas pipelines were not operating at the time of the leaks.