WARSAW: A Polish court will decide on Friday whether to extradite a Ukrainian diver to Germany for his alleged involvement in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions.
Volodymyr Z. is wanted by German prosecutors who accuse him of planting explosives on the pipelines near Denmark’s Bornholm island in September 2022.
German authorities have charged him with conspiring to commit an explosives attack and anti-constitutional sabotage.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated earlier this month that extraditing Volodymyr Z. would not serve Poland’s national interests.
Tusk emphasised that the fundamental issue was the construction of the pipelines themselves rather than their subsequent destruction.
The 2022 explosions severely disrupted Russian gas supplies to Europe, intensifying the Ukraine conflict and creating energy shortages.
Poland has long criticised the Nord Stream projects, arguing they increased European dependence on Russian energy and funded Moscow.
Germany’s government has declined to comment on Tusk’s remarks or the diplomatic tensions surrounding the case.
One anonymous German diplomat expressed concern that Tusk’s comments could damage cooperation between two crucial Ukrainian allies.
Another German diplomat indicated Berlin would avoid confrontation with Warsaw regardless of the court’s decision.
Volodymyr Z.’s Polish lawyer vehemently denies all accusations against his client.
Attorney Tymoteusz Paprocki questioned whether damaging Russian property during wartime should constitute a criminal offence.
Warsaw regional prosecutors’ spokesperson Piotr Skiba acknowledged the legal difficulty in refusing Germany’s extradition request.
Skiba stated that finding valid grounds to block the transfer would be challenging under current legal frameworks.
He clarified that the final decision rests entirely with the Warsaw court hearing the case.
A second Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., recently won an extradition reprieve from Italy’s top court on procedural grounds.
Italian courts will need to rehear Serhii K.’s extradition case following the appeal victory.
Polish courts can refuse European arrest warrants if they violate human rights or duplicate domestic proceedings.
Poland has opened its own investigation into the Nord Stream bombings, where Volodymyr Z. serves as a witness rather than a suspect. – Reuters
