Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Germany should not focus on prosecuting suspects in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, arguing instead that those responsible for building the infrastructure should bear the political blame.
"Those who should be ashamed are the people who built the gas pipelines, not those who took them out of service," Tusk said.
His comments reflect Poland's long-standing opposition to Nord Stream, particularly Nord Stream 2, which Warsaw has argued increased Europe's dependence on Russian energy and allowed Russian gas to reach Germany while bypassing traditional transit countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine. Poland held that position even before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Tusk spoke as Germany's investigation into the September 2022 explosions has entered a new phase. On August 19, Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Z. was arrested in Pula, Croatia, under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. German federal prosecutors suspect him of belonging to a group that planted explosives on the pipelines.
According to the German investigation, Vladimir Z. is a professional diver who allegedly participated in an operation led by former Ukrainian serviceman Serhiy K. Prosecutors say the group used a sailing yacht to transport explosives to the area near the Danish island of Bornholm. A Croatian court must now decide whether Vladimir Z. will be extradited to Germany.
