A second arrest in a highly sensitive case, described as a “war crime” by the German prosecutor’s office. The Ukrainian Vladimir Z., a trained diver, “is strongly suspected of having caused an explosion in an organized gang, committing an act of unconstitutional sabotage and destruction of an infrastructure” in northern Germany in 2022, details the federal prosecutor’s office based in Karlsruhe (west) in a press release released on August 19.
According to German justice, Vladimir Z., arrested in the Croatian town of Pula by local police forces, was part of the commando led by Ukrainian national Serhii K., arrested in Italy last August and extradited to Germany in the fall.
This former Ukrainian army commander is accused of “attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, and of causing an explosion and destroying buildings.”
On September 26, 2022, seven months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, four huge gas leaks preceded by underwater explosions took place a few hours apart on Nord Stream 1 and 2, pipelines transporting most of Russian gas to Europe.
A commando leaving by sailboat from northern Germany
kyiv has always denied having orchestrated the sabotage, but has not hidden its satisfaction either, deeming legitimate any attack that could weaken the Kremlin’s ability to finance its war.
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Vladimir Z. participated in the installation of explosive charges on the gas pipelines, details the press release from the German prosecutor’s office.
To do this, the commando used a sailboat from the city of Rostock (north), rented from a German company by accomplices under a false identity.
After his transfer from Croatia, the suspect must be presented to the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, the highest court in Germany.
The Nord Stream gas pipeline, a symbol of German-Russian energy cooperation before the war, was shut down in 2022. Berlin has since become kyiv’s primary military supporter and regularly accuses Russia of sabotage and espionage on its soil.
With AFP and Reuters
