Alleged Nord Stream sabotage activities were previously present in Berlin before departing
Following the Nord Stream pipeline assault, reports suggest that one of the suspected perpetrators frequently visited Germany. Towards the end of May, a Ukrainian man, registered in Poland, visited his relative in Berlin. Not long after, German authorities issued a European arrest warrant. Remarkably, the individual managed to evade capture.
As per "Spiegel", ZDF, and the Danish broadcaster DR's account, the suspect, identified as Wolodymyr Sh., journeyed to Germany multiple times post the Baltic Sea pipelines' attacks in 2022's autumn. These trips occurred while the Federal Prosecutor's Office was actively investigating Sh. for alleged treasonous sabotage.
Travel records show that Sh. last visited Germany at the end of May, narrowly escaping an arrest warrant that was issued shortly after. Making his way back to Poland after a visit to Denmark, he is said to have stopped in Berlin to visit his wife's relative. This visit is corroborated by travel data and confirmed by the Berlin-residing Ukrainian woman who hosted him on May 26.
Sh.'s wife reportedly cancelled another trip to Denmark a week later, when a European arrest warrant was dispatched to Poland on June 21, 2024. Soon after, Sh. slipped away to Ukraine. Sh. did not respond to media requests for comments regarding the events.
"He's our hero"
This matter has escalated into a political debate. Polish authorities should've immediately executed the European arrest warrant against Sh., but instead, high-ranking Polish politicians reportedly informed their German counterparts during early July's German-Polish government consultations that they would not be making the arrest. Allegedly, Polish officials responded, "Why should we arrest him? For us, he's our hero!"
German sources claim that Sh. might have received an early warning of an arrest threat. Some speculate that Polish authorities may have been behind this. Like wise Ukraine, Poland saw the pipeline as a threat to its security.
Ukrainian involvement in the sabotage is suggested by Sh.'s mail route. He reportedly crossed the Poland-Ukraine border on July 6, using a car with diplomatic license plates that is believed to belong to Ukraine's embassy in Warsaw.
In September 2022, a sabotage team detonated three of the Nord Stream pipelines running beneath the Baltic Sea, crippling the remaining one. German investigators, including the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office, and the Federal Police, are now confident that the Ukrainians were responsible for the attack.
The Commission, composed of international investigators, is deliberating on the possibility of implicating Ukrainian officials in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, given the evidence of Ukrainian involvement. Following the revelation that the main suspect, Wolodymyr Sh., used a car with diplomatic license plates from Ukraine's embassy in Warsaw, the Commission is intensifying its inquiries.
