Polish authorities search home of Ukrainian suspected in Nord Stream explosions
Poland’s Internal Security Agency has searched the home of Volodymyr Zh., who is suspected of involvement in the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
The Polish outlet Onet reported this, citing the Ukrainian’s lawyer, according to Censor.NET.
Defence attorney Tymoteusz Paprocki said that on Thursday morning, the search took place in an apartment in Warsaw belonging to Volodymyr Zh. and his wife Yuliana. The investigative actions were carried out under the direction of the National Prosecutor’s Office, the District Prosecutor’s Office in Gdańsk.
According to the lawyer, the search was conducted properly and without objections from his clients. Polish law enforcement is collecting evidence as part of an investigation into the Nord Stream explosions on Polish territory.
"If Polish law enforcement suspects Volodymyr Zh. of a possible crime, my client and the defence expect formal charges to be brought so that we can prove his innocence before a Polish court and defend his right to freedom," Paprocki said.
Nord Stream pipeline blasts
On 26 September 2022, three explosions occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which run along the Baltic Sea seabed from Russia to Germany, causing massive gas leaks.
The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union said the incident was an act of deliberate sabotage.
In early February 2024, Sweden closed its investigation into the Nord Stream explosions due to a lack of jurisdiction.
Subsequently, Germany issued arrest warrants for all suspects in the sabotage of the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines in 2022. All of them are Ukrainian citizens.
The Bologna Court of Appeal ruled to extradite Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznetsov to Germany.
On October 1, the Warsaw District Court ordered a seven-day detention for Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zh., who is suspected by German authorities of involvement in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
On October 6, the Warsaw Provincial Court extended Volodymyr Zh.’s detention for another 40 days.
