Germany points arrest warrant for Ukrainian over Nord Stream fuel pipeline assaults

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Germany’s chief prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream fuel pipelines within the Baltic Sea almost two years in the past, in accordance with German media stories.

German public broadcaster ARD, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers, stated the alleged perpetrator of the assaults was a Ukrainian citizen who had been residing in Poland however had now gone into hiding.

The Swedish newspaper Expressen, a part of the staff of media retailers that broke the story, named the suspect as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, aged 44. He’s suspected of “anti-constitutional sabotage and inflicting an explosion”.

A spokeswoman for the German prosecutor’s workplace declined to remark.

If confirmed, it will be the primary breakthrough within the long-running investigation into the blasts on September 26 2022 that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and a couple of pipelines.

The explosions, close to the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, led to 4 leaks on the pipelines. Ever since, investigators have puzzled over who might be answerable for what was one of the crucial spectacular situations of sabotage in Europe’s latest historical past.

NS1 had lengthy been the primary conduit for Russian pure fuel into Germany. NS2 had been accomplished however had not but gone into operation by the point of the blasts, amid rising political tensions between Berlin and Moscow within the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The 2 strains had lengthy been a source of friction between Berlin and its east European neighbours, which stated they’d enable Russia to extend its management of European vitality markets by bypassing nations like Poland and supplying fuel immediately into the area’s largest financial system and manufacturing powerhouse.

By the point of the explosions, Moscow had already suspended a lot of its fuel deliveries to Germany.

ARD stated the alleged attackers had used a German crusing yacht, the Andromeda, which they rented in September 2022, and used to sail into the Baltic Sea. In July 2023, investigators found traces of explosives on the boat, which they consider had been used to move the costs for the assault.

The broadcaster stated investigators had recognized two different Ukrainian residents, one a lady, as potential suspects. They believed the 2, each skilled divers, might need hooked up the explosives to the pipelines.

The broadcaster additionally reported that to this point police and prosecutors had discovered no proof that the Ukrainian army or intelligence providers had been concerned within the assaults. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has at all times denied that his authorities was concerned.

Sweden and Denmark suspended their investigation into the blasts at first of 2024, however the German prosecutor’s workplace continued its probe. 

The media stories stated German investigators had succeeded in gathering sufficient proof to acquire an arrest warrant in opposition to Zhuravlov from a decide on the German Federal Courtroom originally of June.

They then approached the Polish authorities with a European arrest warrant. It was unclear, ARD stated, why Poland had did not act on it. It stated Polish authorities had to this point not responded to the German request.

ARD and the newspapers stated investigators assumed Zhuravlov had been residing in a city west of Warsaw, however had just lately gone into hiding. It was unclear whether or not he was now again in Ukraine.