Germany seeks arrest of Ukrainian diver for Nord Stream sabotage
Al Jazeera
Ukrainian diving instructor Volodymyr Z is accused of being part of a team that blew up the gas pipelines.
Germany has issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor over his alleged involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, according to German media.
German investigators believe Volodymyr Z was a member of a team that in September 2022 planted explosive devices on the pipeline route carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany, German media reported on Wednesday. German law does not allow publication of the suspect’s surname.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly denied his country was behind the sabotage, which disrupted Russian gas exports to the European Union, hitting Moscow’s energy revenues hard.
Volodymyr Z was last known to have lived in Poland, according to a report by the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers and the ARD public broadcaster, which quoted unnamed sources.
The Polish prosecutor’s office confirmed on Wednesday that it had received a German arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man who is a suspect in the Nord Stream attack named “Volodymyr Z”.
