German authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of carrying out the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline two years ago.
The explosions left gas billowing from Nord Stream 1 and 2 – two major conduits that transported Russian gas to Europe – and prompted a huge operation to find who was responsible.
The news comes after three German outlets reported that the man – described as a male diver – along with two other Ukrainian suspects, are believed by German federal prosecutors to have launched an audacious underwater attack on the pipeline from a sailing boat in September 2022.
After a joint investigation, German outlets ARD, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Wednesday that the arrest warrant for the man had been sent to Poland’s government to approve in June.
According to the new German media reports, investigators in Germany believe that the sailing boat set sail from Rostock, Germany in September 2022, stopping in Denmark, Sweden and Poland, with a six-person crew including five men and one woman.
During that voyage, the crew is reportedly suspected of diving into the Baltic Sea and attaching explosives to the massive Nord Stream pipelines, which subsequently detonated and damaged both lines, according to the outlets.
Last year, three US officials told CNN that the US had received intelligence from a European ally that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack on the pipelines three months before they were hit.