German state prosecutors are intensifying their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which were damaged in a series of explosions under the Baltic Sea in September 2022. They have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor identified as Volodymyr Z.
The arrest warrant has drawn significant media attention, likening the case to a sensational true crime story. While Ines Peterson, a spokesperson for Germany’s prosecutor general, refrained from confirming the warrant to avoid compromising the investigation, a representative from the Polish prosecutor general confirmed that a European Arrest Warrant has been issued at the request of German authorities.
Reports indicate that Polish authorities attempted to apprehend Volodymyr Z at his home in Pruszków, a town near Warsaw, but learned he had already fled to Ukraine. According to investigations by major German media, Volodymyr Z was allegedly part of a skilled team of Ukrainian divers who rented a German yacht in September 2022, sailed to the Baltic Sea, and detonated explosives, leading to the destruction of three of the four Nord Stream pipelines.
Additionally, a Ukrainian man and woman are also under suspicion for their involvement in the sabotage.
While these developments suggest a group of Ukrainian divers may have executed the attack, they leave unresolved questions regarding who orchestrated the operation. Currently, no public evidence has emerged tying the attack to any state, including Ukraine or Russia, or to any specific individual or group.
Over the past years, various conspiracy theories have circulated around the attack, with unverified claims implicating governments from Kyiv, Moscow, or Washington. There have also been speculations that military factions within Ukraine or Russia could have acted independently in this regard.
The Nord Stream pipelines were a critical conduit for gas from Russia to Germany, symbolizing the continent’s reliance on Moscow for energy supplies. This dependence has long raised alarms among Eastern European nations, warning that it left Europe vulnerable.
Historically, German leadership, from Gerhard Schröder’s left-wing coalition to Angela Merkel’s conservative governments, believed that fostering economic ties with Russia through energy partnerships would promote stability. However, the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shattered those assumptions, leading to widespread acknowledgment among German politicians of a miscalculated strategy.
