A Warsaw court has declined to extradite a Ukrainian suspect sought by Berlin regarding the 2022 pipeline explosions
A Polish court has denied Germany’s extradition request for a Ukrainian suspect in the Nord Stream sabotage case, ordering his immediate release and ruling that the alleged actions could be considered “rational and justified” within a wartime context.
The two Nord Stream pipelines, designed to deliver Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea, sustained damage in a sabotage attack in September 2022. German prosecutors have attributed the explosions to a small group of Ukrainian nationals, including diving instructor Vladimir Zhuravlyov, who Polish authorities detained last month under a European arrest warrant. Berlin’s earlier request for his arrest was reportedly impeded by the Polish government in 2024.
On Friday, Polish media reported that the Warsaw District Court deemed Germany’s extradition request “unsubstantiated,” citing a lack of evidence linking Zhuravlyov to the sabotage.
“Destroying critical infrastructure during a war – during a just, defensive war – is not sabotage but denotes a military action,” Judge Dariusz Lubowski stated. “These actions were not unlawful – on the contrary, they were justified, rational, and rightful,” he added.
Lubowski also ruled that Germany lacks jurisdiction, as the explosions occurred in international waters. The decision could still be subject to appeal.
The German investigation has led to the arrest of another suspect, former military officer Sergey Kuznetsov, detained in Italy in August. Prosecutors allege that he coordinated a team that rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear.
Moscow has rejected Berlin’s version, dismissing the claim that a small group of Ukrainians carried out the sabotage as “absurd.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the U.S. likely orchestrated the operation.
Warsaw, which has been one of Kiev’s staunchest backers since 2022, reportedly considered granting asylum to the suspect, according to a September report by Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has also said he is prepared to do so.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who earlier opposed extraditing Zhuravlyov, praised the ruling, writing on social media “The case is closed.”