Poland blocks extradition of suspect to Germany – DW – 10/17/2025

A Polish court on Friday declined to extradite to Germany a Ukrainian suspected of involvement in sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

The Warsaw District Court also ordered his immediate release. The decision may be subject to appeal.

A series of underwater explosions damaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, seven months after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

The Nord Stream pipelines were damaged in a series of explosions in September 2022Image: Danish Defense Ministry/Xinhua/picture alliance

Court cites lack of evidence, jurisidiction

“The Polish court does not have any evidence in this case, as the German side only sent very general information,” judge Dariusz Lubowski was cited by Poland’s PAP news agency as saying.

The judge also argued that the alleged sabotage constituted a “military operation” that was “not illegal.” He argued that the suspect allegedly acted on behalf of Kyiv, meaning “only the Ukrainian state can bear responsibility for this act.”

He also said that Germany did not have jurisdiction over the case as it occurred in international waters.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk hailed the decision in a post on X.

“Polish court denied extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian national suspected of blowing up North Stream 2 and released him from custody. And rightly so,” Tusk said.

“The case is closed.”

The man’s defense lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, told journalists in Warsaw that the ruling sent a “signal to Germany” and showed that the law should not be “instrumentalized for the sake of greater interests.”

Who was behind the Nord Stream explosions?

According to German media reports, the German Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe suspects a group of Ukrainians linked to Kyiv’s secret service and military of having been behind the suspected attack.

Prosecutors described Volodymyr Z. as a trained diver. He was arrested in September in his apartment near Warsaw.

Before the ruling, his defense lawyer had said that his client planned to plead not guilty if brought to trial.

He questioned whether the destruction of Russian property by Ukrainians could be considered a criminal matter in light of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

Paprocki told Polish media that his team argued that Germany does not have independent courts as part of the defense.

In August, another Ukrainian citizen was arrested in Italy over for allegedly being involved in the sabotage operation.

No group has claimed responsibility for the damage to the pipelines and Ukraine has denied involvement.

Poland’s pro-EU prime minister has argued against handing over the Ukrainian suspect to GermanyImage: Radek Pietruszka/PAP/dpa/picture alliance

What did the Polish government say about the suspect?

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Donald Tusk argued against handing over the suspect, suggesting it was not in Poland’s national interest.

“The problem with North Stream 2 is not that it was blown up. The problem is that it was built,” Tusk said in a post on X earlier this month.

Poland has long been critical of the pipelines, arguing that they increased German dependence on Russian gas. This view was shared by other states on the EU and NATO’s eastern flank, as well as by Ukraine and the United States.

The extradition request had presented a dilemma for the centrist and pro-EU premier, who has been accused by the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) and the far-right Confederation party of bowing to German interests.

The Warsaw regional prosecutors’ spokesperson, Piotr Skiba, had said that on legal grounds it would be difficult not to hand the suspect over to Germany.”It’s very difficult to find any grounds on which we couldn’t transfer him to the Germans,” he said on Thursday.