The Ukrainian suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines left Poland in a Ukrainian embassy car – Der Spiegel

Vladimir Zhuravlev, who is suspected of being involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, left Poland for Ukraine in a vehicle belonging to the Ukrainian embassy in Warsaw.

This information was reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel, citing sources.

According to the publication, as well as the German channel ZDF and the Danish public broadcaster DR, German investigators believe that Poland, after receiving a request to arrest Zhuravlev, alerted the Ukrainian suspect, allowing him to flee to his homeland—possibly in a vehicle with diplomatic plates used by the Ukrainian embassy in Warsaw. Officially, Warsaw had assured Berlin that it would arrest Zhuravlev, making it seem like a mere formality.

Zhuravlev was placed on a European wanted list in early June. An arrest warrant was sent to Poland on June 21. On July 6, the suspect left for Ukraine.

In Berlin, authorities are convinced that Poland warned Zhuravlev in advance, likely because they considered him a “hero” and had no intention of arresting him.

Notably, in May, just days before the warrant was issued, Zhuravlev was freely traveling across Western Europe and even stayed in Berlin. This means that Germany had an opportunity to arrest him earlier, had the warrant been issued sooner.

Zhuravlev has not responded to journalists’ questions.