Germany’s chief prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of attacking the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea nearly two years ago, according to German media reports.

Public broadcaster ARD, along with the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers, identified the suspect as a Ukrainian citizen who had been residing in Poland but is now in hiding. The Swedish newspaper Expressen, part of the media group that first reported the story, named him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 44, who is accused of "anti-constitutional sabotage and causing an explosion."

A spokesperson for the German prosecutor’s office declined to provide further details.

If confirmed, this would mark the first significant development in the ongoing investigation into the September 26, 2022 explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. The blasts, near Denmark's Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, resulted in four leaks and have puzzled investigators trying to determine the responsible party for this major act of sabotage in recent European history.

Nord Stream 1 had been the primary route for Russian natural gas to Germany, while Nord Stream 2 had been completed but was not yet operational at the time of the explosions, coinciding with increased political tensions between Berlin and Moscow following the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Why it matters

The Nord Stream pipelines had long caused tension between Berlin and its Eastern European neighbors, who argued that the pipelines would increase Russia's dominance over European energy markets by bypassing countries like Poland and directly supplying gas to Germany, the region’s largest economy and industrial center.

By the time of the explosions, Russia had already halted much of its gas exports to Germany.

According to ARD, the suspected attackers used a German sailing yacht named Andromeda, rented in September 2022, to navigate into the Baltic Sea. In July 2023, investigators found traces of explosives on the boat, which they believe were used to transport the charges for the attack.

The broadcaster also reported that investigators have identified two other Ukrainian citizens, including a woman, as potential suspects. These individuals, both experienced divers, are suspected of attaching the explosives to the pipelines. However, there is no evidence linking the Ukrainian military or intelligence services to the attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently denied any involvement by his government.

Sweden and Denmark halted their investigations into the explosions at the start of 2024, but the German prosecutor’s office continued its probe. Media reports indicated that German investigators gathered sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Zhuravlov from a judge at the German Federal Court in early June.

They subsequently issued a European arrest warrant to Polish authorities, but ARD noted that Poland had not acted on it and had not responded to the German request. Investigators believe Zhuravlov, who was thought to be living in a town west of Warsaw, has recently gone into hiding, and it remains unclear whether he has returned to Ukraine.

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