German investigators have issued an international arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man they suspect of having been involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022.
Until the attack, the pipeline — a key route for moving gas from Russia to a number of EU countries — was seen as a key factor in securing energy security in Europe.
German news outlets ARD, Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and Die Zeit reported on August 14 that the Ukrainian was last seen in Poland.
Investigators are said to believe he was one of six crew members aboard the Andromeda, the vessel that has been implicated in the pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea that severely hit Germany’s energy supply.
The person of interest is reportedly a diving instructor who taught in Kyiv but lives in Warsaw.
Investigators at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) have alleged he was involved in “intentionally causing an… explosion” and “anti-constitutional sabotage.”
The arrest warrant was issued in June but has only been made public now.
Two other suspects have also been identified in the case. They reportedly own a diving company that offers diving tours abroad. German media said it was also able to contact one of them, who claimed they were in Bulgaria at the time of the attack and did not know the individual named in Berlin’s arrest warrant.
Both these suspects are in Ukraine and no arrest warrants have been issued for them.
“All the evidence points to Kyiv” regarding the destruction of Germany’s Nord Stream gas pipelines, a joint investigation has reportedly found. https://t.co/37KGkBjrfM
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 29, 2023
The investigation into the attack is being carried out with the help of foreign secret services. Three months before the sabotage, the US intelligence service, the CIA, issued a warning to the Ukrainians not to target Nord Stream after agents received information from their Dutch counterparts that an attack was imminent.
Since the Germans started collecting evidence in recent months, obtaining an arrest warrant and working with Polish authorities, the Ukrainian suspect appears to have left Poland. It is unclear whether or not he is now back in Ukraine.
German media outlets Tagesschau and Die Zeit reported on August 14 that they had been able to reach the suspect by phone. They said he denied having been involved in the Nord Stream explosions.
According to established rules on international arrest warrants, Polish authorities should have held him for up to 60 days, without further examination, but that did not happen.
Denmark and Sweden have investigated the sabotage as well due to the attack occurring within their exclusive economic zone. Both have since dropped their cases. Sweden cited a lack of jurisdiction, while Denmark said there was no basis for pursuing a criminal case.
The blowing up of the pipelines caused major economic and ecological damage.
European gas prices jumped 12 per cent after news of the sabotage emerged. Germany particularly suffered in the aftermath and has been struggling with high energy prices ever since.
The explosions caused a huge leak of methane to be released — estimated at 150,000 tonnes, equivalent to Sweden’s total annual methane emissions from all other sources. The leak reportedly set a new record as the largest methane discharge ever.
The explosion devastated marine life within a 4km radius and affected animals as far as 50km away. Additionally, 250,000 tonnes of seafloor sediment — contaminated with toxic materials such as lead and tributyltin — were disrupted.
There are considerable political implications regarding the attack because, it is argued, if the Ukrainian Government was involved that would mean Kyiv had directly attacked its allies.
“Any deliberate disruption of the European energy infrastructure is unacceptable,” the European Commission stated after the attack.
Reports from Germany that Ukraine may have been behind the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage is a big deal, but apparently not big enough for most media in Brussels, writes @jrfjeffrey.@derspiegel | @pietercleppe | @SohrabAhmari https://t.co/npWaXsbvqQ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 5, 2023
