Urgent! Germany issues arrest warrant for Ukrainian over Nord Stream attacks

Germany’s chief prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea nearly two years ago, German media reports.

German public broadcaster ARD and newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit reported that the alleged attacker was a Ukrainian citizen living in Poland who is now at large. Swedish newspaper Expressen, part of the group of media outlets that broke the story, identified the suspect as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 44. He is suspected of “unconstitutional sabotage and causing an explosion.”

A spokeswoman for the German prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

If confirmed, this would be the first breakthrough in the long-running investigation into the September 26, 2022, explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

The explosions, which occurred near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, resulted in four gas pipeline leaks. Investigators have since been wondering who could be responsible for one of the most spectacular cases of sabotage in recent European history.

NS1 had long been the main route for transporting Russian natural gas to Germany. NS2 had been completed but was not yet in operation at the time of the explosions, amid heightened political tensions between Berlin and Moscow following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The two lines had been a source of friction between Berlin and its eastern European neighbors, who said they would allow Russia to increase its control over European energy markets by bypassing countries like Poland and supplying gas directly to the region’s biggest economy and manufacturing powerhouse.

At the time of the explosions, Moscow had already suspended much of its gas deliveries to Germany.

ARD reported that the alleged attackers used a German sailing yacht, the Andromeda, which they chartered in September 2022 and used to sail in the Baltic Sea. In July 2023, investigators discovered traces of explosives on the boat, which they believe were used to transport the cargo for the attack.

The broadcaster said investigators had identified two other Ukrainian nationals, one of whom was a woman, as potential suspects. The pair, both experienced divers, are believed to have attached the explosives to the pipelines.

The broadcaster also reported that so far, police and prosecutors have found no evidence that Ukrainian military forces or intelligence services were involved in the attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently denied that his government was involved.

Sweden and Denmark suspended their investigations into the explosions in early 2024, but the German prosecutor’s office continued its probe.

Media reports said German investigators managed to gather enough evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Zhuravlov from a German Federal Court judge in early June.

They then approached the Polish authorities with a European arrest warrant. It was unclear, according to ARD, why Poland had not acted on it. The broadcaster reported that the Polish authorities had not yet responded to the German request.

ARD and newspapers said investigators assumed Zhuravlov was living in a town west of Warsaw but had recently gone into hiding. It was not clear whether he was now back in Ukraine.