All news

Polish MEP calls for springing Ukrainian man detained in Nord Stream case

Tomasz Bochenski said that "Poland should neither extradite nor prosecute" Vladimir Zhuravlyov

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Polish European Parliament member Tomasz Bochenski, who represents the country’s leading opposition Law and Justice party, has suggested organizing the escape of Ukrainian national Vladimir Zhuravlyov, detained in Poland in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion case.

"That’s exactly how such matters are resolved," the politician told the RMF FM radio station, when asked if it would be reasonable to help the Ukrainian escape from custody. "As far the interests of the state go, Poland should neither extradite nor prosecute him," Bochenski noted.

Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Zhuravlyov, 46, was detained by police in the city of Pruszkow near Warsaw on the morning of September 30 based on a European arrest warrant. Germany suspects the Ukrainian of being involved in the blowing up of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. If found guilty under German laws, he faces up to 15 years in prison. On October 1, the Warsaw District Court ruled that the Ukrainian be taken into custody for seven days, while Poland is waiting for Germany to provide the files of the case in which he is a suspect. The Polish court has 100 days to make a decision on the Ukrainian's extradition to Germany.

The Die Zeit newspaper reported earlier that German prosecutors had apparently identified all the saboteurs involved in the Nord Stream explosions. Arrest warrants have been issued for six Ukrainian nationals. The seventh suspect is believed to have been killed in military operations in eastern Ukraine in December 2024. According to the German prosecution authorities, the sabotage group comprised a skipper, a coordinator, an explosives expert, and four divers, who arrived at the intended crime scene in the Baltic Sea aboard the yacht Andromeda from the German city of Rostock.