Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk affirmed that the country will not extradite a Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in the Nord Stream sabotage. He said Europes mistake lies not in who blew up Nord Stream, but in letting it be built.
RT reported that speaking at a press conference on October 7, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the extradition would be considered by the court, but he strongly opposed the handover of the Ukrainian suspect to Berlin.
It is certainly not in Polands interests to hand over this citizen to another country, Tusk said. The problems of Europe, Ukraine, Lithunia and Poland are not that Nord Stream 2 was blown down, but that it was built.
Mr. Tusk's statement is not only related to a criminal case, but also touches on a profound conflict in Europe's energy policy. Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 - two Russian gas pipelines to Germany via the Baltic Sea - have long been opposed by Poland for increasing Europe's dependence on Russian energy.
Both pipelines were sabotaged underwater in September 2022, causing the entire system to stall. German investigations suggest that a small group of Ukrainians detonated the explosion using a chartered Andromeda yacht in Germany.
However, Russia has dismissed the scenario, saying it is unbelievable that a group of civilians could carry out such a large-scale attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly hinted at the US as the one behind the sabotage, which Washington has strongly denied.
The suspect arrested in Poland, identified by German and Polish media as Vladimir Z., a Ukrainian diving coach accused of joining the group that carried out the blast. He was arrested in the city of Pruszkow (Poland) at the end of September, after escaping a German arrest warrant in 2024.
According to Rzeczpospolita, Polish authorities at that time warned the suspect to flee, and there were even reports that he left Poland on a car with a Ukrainian diplomatic license plate.
Some sources also said that Warsaw has considered giving Vladimir Z. political asylum, as Poland has been a close ally of Ukraine since Russia launched its military campaign in 2022. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has previously said he is re ready to consider the citizens asylum application.
German authorities have not commented on Mr. Tusk's statement, but German media see it as a sign that Poland is prioritizing strategic interests over judicial cooperation in the EU.
