German investigators have issued a European arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor who is a suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Al Jazeera reports.
German investigators allege a diver named Volodymyr Z was a member of a team that planted explosive devices on the Nord Stream pipelines carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Related article: Times says pro-Ukraine group behind Nord Stream sabotage
They have also identified two more Ukrainians—a man and a woman believed to be a married couple—who they believe acted as divers in the attacks. However, no arrest warrants have yet been issued for them.
The multi-billion dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in the Swedish and Danish economic zones in September 2022.
The second Nord Stream pipeline route was built to divert Russian gas exports to the EU away from Ukraine’s pipelines, on which they were previously heavily reliant.
The blasts occurred seven months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a wide range of Western economic and financial sanctions against Moscow.
Police in Copenhagen said in a statement, “The investigation has led the authorities to conclude that there was deliberate sabotage of the gas pipelines. However, the assessment is that there are not sufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case in Denmark.”
Swedish prosecutors subsequently dropped their investigation into the explosions, handing uncovered evidence over to German investigators.
Related article: Denmark second country to drop Nord Stream sabotage probe
German investigators then raided a ship they believed may have been used to transport explosives and told the United Nations trained divers could have attached devices to the pipelines at about 70-80m deep.
The New York Times also reported US officials had seen intelligence indicating a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for carrying out the blasts without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s knowledge.
