New progress in the Nord Stream pipeline explosion case: The suspect wanted by Germany has returned to Ukraine

On August 14, 2024, according to reports from media such as Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Polish prosecutor's office confirmed receiving a "European Arrest Warrant" sent by Germany, requesting assistance in arresting the Ukrainian citizen "Vladimir Z" suspected of being involved in the sabotage of the "Nord Stream" natural gas pipeline in 2022. However, this person is no longer in Poland and has returned to Ukraine.

Anna Adamczyk, the spokesperson of the Polish prosecutor's office, said that the relevant German agency issued a "European Arrest Warrant" to the regional prosecutor's office in Warsaw in June, involving the relevant procedures for handling the case in Germany. The suspect entered Poland from Ukraine in July, but the Polish side did not find the person when searching his residence. Anna Adamczyk explained that because the relevant German agency did not enter this person's name into the database of wanted persons, the Polish border guards were unable to arrest "Vladimir Z".

German weekly Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and German public broadcaster ARD reported earlier on the 14th that German investigators believe that in the deliberate sabotage of the "Nord Stream" pipeline, a group of people were responsible for diving underwater to install explosive devices, and the wanted Ukrainian is suspected of being involved. The German Federal Prosecutor General has obtained an arrest warrant for him, and when it was issued, the person was believed to be in Poland. Additionally, the German prosecutor's office has also identified two other suspects from Ukraine, a man and a woman, both divers, who may have placed explosives on the underwater natural gas pipeline, but no arrest warrants have been issued for the two. In response to the news from the German side, the Ukrainian side has not responded for the time being.

Looking back at the "Nord Stream" pipeline explosion incident, on September 26, 2022, "Nord Stream 1" and "Nord Stream 2" suffered violent underwater explosions near the waters of Denmark and Sweden, with a large amount of natural gas leakage. A total of four leakage points were found, suspected of being deliberately sabotaged. After the incident, the involved countries such as Germany, Denmark, and Sweden refused Russia's participation in the investigation. Denmark and Sweden announced the conclusion of the investigation in February this year without identifying any suspects. The explosion of the "Nord Stream" pipeline severely disrupted the economic ties between Russia and Europe, causing tight natural gas supply and high prices in the EU market. So far, the mastermind behind the "Nord Stream" pipeline explosion case remains unclear. The international community generally expects all parties to accelerate the investigation and uncover the truth as soon as possible. At the same time, this incident also highlights the crucial role of international cooperation and information sharing in combating transnational crimes and maintaining regional security and stability.