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This story was originally published in German by WELT, a sister publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group.
Almost two years ago, several explosions in the Baltic Sea caused a worldwide uproar. A short time later, it was clear that three of the four branches of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which had been laid to supply gas from Russia to Germany, had been destroyed. But by whom?
German investigators believe they may have the answer. The main suspect is a Ukrainian diving instructor named Volodymyr Z., who last lived near Warsaw. Investigators suspect him of carrying out the attack together with five other Ukrainians. But before he could be arrested, the suspect fled to his home country.
German investigators are now accusing Poland of not executing the European arrest and search warrants issued against Z. by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in June. Germany’s federal criminal police and Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office are displeased. An official familiar with the investigation made a serious accusation to WELT AM SONNTAG, claiming that Poland was sabotaging the investigation. Another person familiar with the investigation called the episode “obstruction of justice.”
That’s not an uncommon view in Germany.
“The Polish government obviously let him go in order to cover up its own involvement in the attack on the pipelines,” August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, told WELT AM SONNTAG. He is convinced that the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were aware of the attack plans. “Operations of such dimensions are inconceivable without the approval of the political leaders of the countries involved,” said Hanning.
Investigators say that the six-man diving crew that allegedly planted the explosives from the sailing yacht “Andromeda” had been trained in Poland. Investigators also believe Warsaw may have provided logistical support for the underwater operation. Crew members on the Andromeda are suspected of having taken on board equipment necessary for the attack in the seaside resort of Kołobrzeg, where the vessel made a stopover seven days before the explosions.
German investigators are also accusing the Polish authorities of deliberately withholding video recordings from the marina in Kołobrzeg. That refusal has fueled German suspicions of a coverup.
In Poland, authorities say they are outraged by the accusations coming from Germany. “The allegation that Ukraine carried out this action with Polish knowledge is completely unfounded,” Jacek Siewiera, the head of the Poland’s National Security Bureau, told WELT AM SONNTAG. He said accusations and insinuations are coming from a close circle of former pro-Russian officials who no longer hold positions of power. “I hope that we are not dealing with an organized disinformation campaign in which people have allowed themselves to be used to blame Poland,” said Siewiera. Poland, he said, is investigating all leads, including the possibility that Russia was involved in the attack.
And what do the suspects themselves think? A high-ranking officer who lives in a major Ukrainian city and is alleged to have been involved in the pipeline attack said: “It’s ridiculous to believe that we did it, but if Ukraine was behind the attack, Germany should stop the investigation, because for Kyiv it was a legitimate military target.”
In August, after news of the arrest warrant became public and accusations against Warsaw started to swirl, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk felt obliged to respond. “To all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2. The only thing you should do today about it is apologise and keep quiet,” he wrote on X.
German investigators, in the meantime, have ruled out a so-called false flag operation by the Russians. They say they are certain that the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, gave the order for the attack.
German authorities, in public, have stayed quiet about the investigation.
“The Federal Government is not commenting and is also not commenting on reports about alleged ‘detailed investigation results’ in the media,” Germany’s justice ministry said in a statement at the end of August.
Meanwhile, it appears unlikely that Volodymyr Z. will ever have to face German authorities in person. Under a European treaty, Ukraine is not required to extradite its nationals to other states, and other people suspected in the plot have presumably gone into hiding.
