Volodymyr Z., a Ukrainian diver wanted by Germany over his alleged involvement in the Nord Stream explosions, has been detained in Poland, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions in 2022 largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent.
No one has taken responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role.
"This morning, he was detained in a town near Warsaw," Volodymyr Z.'s lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki said.
Private broadcaster RMF FM first reported the arrest. It said Volodymyr Z. was detained in Pruszkow, west of the capital.
Suspect to fight transfer to Germany
Paprocki said that Volodymyr Z.'s defence would fight against his transfer to Germany, arguing that the execution of the European arrest warrant against him was inadmissible given Russia's war in Ukraine.
"The attack on Nord Stream infrastructure concerns one of the pipeline's owners, Gazprom, which directly finances the military operations in Ukraine," he said. Gazprom is Russia's state gas giant.
The German justice ministry and the federal prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Polish prosecutors had no immediate comment.
In August, Italian police arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the attacks. The man, identified only as Serhii K., plans to take his fight against extradition to Italy's highest court after a lower court ordered his transfer to Germany.
Polish prosecutors told Reuters in August that they received a European arrest warrant issued by Berlin in connection with the attack on Nord Stream pipelines, but the suspect had already left Poland.
Gas pipelines
German investigators believe Volodymyr Z. was part of a team that planted the explosives, the SZ and Die Zeit newspapers reported in August alongside the ARD broadcaster, citing unnamed sources.
The blasts wrecked three out of four Nord Stream pipelines, which had become a controversial symbol of German reliance on Russian gas in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia blamed the U.S., Britain and Ukraine for the blasts, which largely cut Russian gas off from the lucrative European market. Those countries have denied involvement.
Germany, Denmark, and Sweden all began investigations into the incident, and the Swedes found traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the explosion site, confirming the blasts were deliberate acts.
The Swedish and Danish investigations were closed in February without identifying any suspect.
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Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 13 October 2026 with the top five science and technology news happening around the world. ...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a newly opened defence museum displaying weapons developed under his leadership, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
Southeast Asian foreign ministers are set to discuss measures to tackle transboundary haze during preparatory meetings ahead of the ASEAN summit in November, as forest and land fires in Indonesia continue to affect air quality across the region, the Philippines said on Tuesday.
Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the United Kingdom believes Iran was likely behind an alleged plot connected to RAF Fairford, a military airbase in Gloucestershire in England that has played a role in U.S. operations against Iran, escalating tensions between London and Tehran.
Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has accused the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement for political purposes after authorities searched her Washington-area home as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
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