- Ucraniano procurado por ataque ao Nord Stream.
O Procurador Federal está procurando, no caso do alegado sabotagem dos gasodutos Nord Stream há quase dois anos, um cidadão ucraniano que se acredita ter fugido da Polônia para seu país de origem. A procuradoria da Polônia recebeu um mandado de prisão europeu da Procuradoria Federal para a prisão de um suspeito, disse um porta-voz da Procuradoria Geral de Varsóvia à agência de notícias alemã.
O suspeito é dito ser Wolodymyr Z., um cidadão ucraniano que estava recentemente na Polônia. No entanto, os investigadores não o encontraram em seu local de residência, disse o porta-voz. Ela acrescentou: "O homem cruzou a fronteira entre a Polônia e a Ucrânia no início de julho." De acordo com a "Tagesschau", os investigadores alemães se aproximaram das autoridades polonesas com um mandado de prisão europeu em junho.
Três suspeitos são ditos serem mergulhadores
"O Tempo", "Süddeutsche Zeitung" e ARD relataram que o homem, junto com outros dois cidadãos ucranianos - um homem e uma mulher - são suspeitos de envolvimento nos ataques. Eles são ditos terem fixado dispositivos explosivos nos gasodutos como mergulhadores. As informações agora publicadas também se baseiam em "indicações de um serviço de inteligência estrangeiro". A Procuradoria Federal recusou-se a comentar os relatórios da mídia.
Vários explosões danificaram e interromperam os dois gasodutos Nord Stream 1 e 2 no final de setembro de 2022. As explosões foram registradas perto da ilha do mar Báltico de Bornholm, na Dinamarca. Logo depois, quatro vazamentos foram descobertos em três das quatro linhas dos gasodutos Nord Stream. Anteriormente, gás natural russo fluía através do Nord Stream 1 para a Alemanha. O Nord Stream 2 ainda não estava em operação devido ao ataque russo à Ucrânia e às subsequentes disputas políticas.
Não há entrada na lista de pessoas procuradas do Schengen
É possível que o suspeito tenha sido capaz de sair porque não havia entrada no registro do Schengen, no qual those sought with a European arrest warrant are listed, the spokesperson for the General Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw said. She added: "Wolodymyr Z. crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border before the arrest could take place, and the Polish border guard had neither the information nor the basis to arrest him, as he was not listed as a wanted person."
Previous investigations had focused on a sailing yacht on which explosives were found in July 2023. It was suspected that the "Andromeda" may have been used for the transport of explosives. According to reports, the investigators assume that the sabotage command consisted of five men and a woman on board the boat, which was rented out under forged papers.
Only Germany is still investigating
After the incident, the question quickly arose as to how the explosive charges could have been attached to damage the pipelines. Experts considered it likely that trained divers could have attached explosive devices to the locations. According to media reports, the Ukrainian suspect sought under arrest warrant is said to be a diving instructor. The authorities of several countries had initiated investigations after the attack. Denmark and Sweden have since discontinued the proceedings.
For a long time, there were various speculations about the perpetrators and masterminds. For months, only a small circle of people within the federal government and the involved authorities knew the current status of the investigations. This might also be due to the fact that the case is politically sensitive. After all, the Nord Stream 2 project was controversial from the start. Poland had already rejected the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was supposed to supply gas from Russia directly to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, even before Russia's attack in February 2022.
Federal Government Emphasizes Support for Ukraine
The investigations by the Federal Prosecutor General into the attack will have no impact on Germany's support for Ukraine, emphasized the deputy government spokesman, Wolfgang Büchner, in response to journalists' questions in Berlin. He stated, "investigations are being conducted according to the law and without regard to person or the outcome of such investigations." He added that the investigations "do not change the fact that Russia is conducting a violation of international law against Ukraine."
The clarification of the sabotage act is a top priority for the federal government, said Büchner. He declined to evaluate whether the Polish authorities are cooperating sufficiently.
The European arrest warrant issued by the Federal Prosecutor's Office is for a suspect associated with the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, specifically a Ukrainian citizen named Wolodymyr Z. The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines involved several explosions that damaged and interrupted both Nord Stream 1 and 2 in September 2022.
