Questioning arises over the German enquiry team’s conduct concerning a suspect’s evasion of arrest related to the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts. Volodymyr Z, a Ukrainian presumed to be a diver mentor and formerly residing in Poland until the previous month, is linked to the pivotal events leading to the September 2022 disruptions. These acts of sabotage wiped out three of the four undersea gas transportation tunnels that link Russia and Germany.
Although the German officials refused to discuss the arrest warrant reportedly published in June, it was validated by the Polish authorities on Wednesday afternoon. According to Poland’s principal prosecutor’s representative, Volodymyr Z was not captured since he left Poland for Ukraine in early July. She further commented that the German officials’ failure to include Volodymyr in the wanted database meant that the Polish border inspectors remained uninformed, subsequently missing the opportunity to apprehend him.
Speculation suggests two other Ukrainians—a male and a female—may have collaborated in orchestrating the blasts. An alleged snapshot from a speed camera appears to place Volodymyr on Germany’s Baltic Sea island, Rügen, just before the devastation. Concurrently, a chartered cruise ship suspected of carrying explosive materials is reported to have docked at the same island.
The explosions on 26th September 2022 shattered both parts of the Russian-operated Nord Stream 1 pipeline as well as one section of the newer Nord Stream 2 pipelines, each stretching up to 1,200km. Three explosions were tracked 70m deep in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm, representing a fourth gas outflow reported by Sweden on 29th September.
Following inconclusive investigations in February by Sweden and Denmark, the German investigators are still probing the incident.
Amid increasing scrutiny over German prosecutorial processes, officials in Berlin have restated Germany’s commitment to Kyiv in its conflict with Russia. Assurances have been made that the ongoing investigations into Nord Stream will not affect Germany’s support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unlawful aggressive warfare.
Nord Stream pipeline 1, when operating at maximum capacity, could deliver 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. However, due to the sanctions levied on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the already completed second pipeline never began operation prior to the combustions.
Previously, the pipelines had been the subject of controversy, particularly in Poland and Ukraine, who complained that it bypassed their countries, depriving them of transit fees and potentially risking their energy supplies.
The Baltic Sea region continues to be a hotspot of tension between Russia and its European neighbours. Recently, a Russian reconnaissance plane was reportedly intercepted and visually identified by two Polish air force pilots over the Baltic Sea.