The suspect has reportedly been identified as Ukrainian national ‘Vladimir Z’
German authorities have issued the first arrest warrant in relation to the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, according to local media. The suspect is believed to be a Ukrainian citizen known as ‘Vladimir Z’. It is unclear if the suspect has ties to Ukraine’s military or intelligence services.
No one has taken responsibility for the explosions that damaged the pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. The sabotage halted gas supplies from Russia to Germany. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was also damaged, had never become operational due to EU bureaucratic delays.
German state broadcaster ARD, along with the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit newspapers, reported on Wednesday that Federal Public Prosecutor Jens Rommel issued the first arrest warrant in the case in early June. While the alleged suspect has been identified, two of his compatriots, a couple, have reportedly been named as potential accomplices.
German officials have reportedly requested cooperation from their Polish counterparts in hopes of locating the suspect, who is said to have been tracked to a location west of Warsaw before disappearing.
ARD reported that they contacted the suspect by phone on Tuesday. ‘Vladimir Z’ claimed he had no involvement in the sabotage.
According to the state broadcaster, the suspected saboteurs are said to have sailed to the sabotage site on a yacht named the ‘Andromeda’. However, Polish authorities have maintained that the vessel’s journey was “purely touristic” in nature, with the crew apparently not raising any suspicion.
German prosecutors are skeptical of the Polish account, according to ARD. Polish officials have also reportedly told their German counterparts that CCTV footage of the yacht and its crew has been deleted.
Despite EU inter-state regulations, Warsaw has reportedly failed to respond to Berlin’s request for cooperation regarding Vladimir Z’s possible whereabouts, ARD alleged.
German media reports indicate that investigators have yet to find concrete evidence linking the suspect directly to the Ukrainian military or intelligence service. High-ranking officials in Kiev have publicly denied any involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines.
The German prosecutor’s office has declined to provide an official statement.
Russian authorities have blamed the US for the disruption of Russian gas supplies to Germany, as they stand to gain the most from it. Moscow has cited Washington’s public grievances regarding the Nord Stream project, expressed on several occasions prior to the destruction of the pipelines.
The Kremlin has also accused the West of obstructing investigative efforts into the blasts.