Attack on Nord Stream 2: Glory to the heroes! Death to the enemy!

Three Ukrainian diving instructors allegedly took part in attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The German federal prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for one of them, but Poland, where the suspect lives, did nothing. The case has now finally become a political issue.

Simple diving

For Yevgeny U., who generally refers to himself simply as “Folgate,” there seems to be nothing more important in life. He discovered the underwater world at the age of eight and has not parted with it since. Instead of disappearing behind a desk after studying marketing in Kyiv, he became a diving instructor, and together with his wife, Svetlana, they founded the Ukrainian Scuba Family diving school.

Since then – as can be read on the company’s website – the couple has traveled half of the underwater world, diving in the Black and Red Seas, the Indian Ocean, the coasts of Turkey and Cyprus, Mexico, and Thailand. The Folgate diving school proudly lists all of his additional qualifications, all twenty-four of them. In accordance with international regulations, he can call himself an “open water diving instructor,” “deep diving instructor,” and “long-term diving instructor.”

He is licensed to teach wreck diving and diving with a resuscitation device – the same ones used by combat swimmers, as these devices do not leave noticeable air bubbles on the surface. Yevgeny U. also underwent training under the Tec Trimix Diver program – designed for extreme divers who use a special breathing mixture of oxygen, helium, and nitrogen for dives to 90 meters deep. A professional, undoubtedly.

Political perspectives and new developments

But now, a person who loves diving has to approach underwater exploration in a completely different way. According to investigations by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, ARD, and Die Zeit, after nearly two years of investigation, it appears that Yevgeny U. and his wife Svetlana are being named as possible accomplices. The investigators issued an arrest warrant for a third man, Vladimir Z., who is an employee of a diving school. The investigators believe that the 44-year-old man likely participated in the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline on September 26, 2022. At that time, three pipes exploded at a depth of 80 meters.

Vladimir Z., who lives in Poland, seems to have already gone into hiding, a fact confirmed by several sources cited by SZ, ARD, and Die Zeit. This means that there is little chance of finding any of the participants. Vladimir Z. is a skilled diving specialist with several special qualifications, such as long-distance swimming or expertise in Nitrox and Trimix special breathing apparatuses, which reduce fatigue and allow for deeper dives.

The sabotage team and the journey of the Andromeda yacht

Federal prosecutors believe that the trio could have been part of a five-person crew that set off on an 18-day odyssey on the 15-meter sailing yacht Andromeda in the Baltic Sea on September 6, 2022. The journey ended on the island of Bornholm with the largest sabotage operation in German history – an underwater attack on the country’s most important infrastructure, the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The pipeline has been supplying Germany with Russian natural gas for many years.

After Sweden and Denmark stopped their investigation into the incident earlier this year, it seems that the authorities in Karlsruhe, jointly investigating with the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police, have finally made a breakthrough. This was made possible thanks to operational information pointing to the Kiev diving school and the couple who lead it.

International investigation and political issues

Svetlana U. told SZ over the phone that in September 2022, she was vacationing in Bulgaria and had no knowledge of Vladimir Z.: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Initially, Yevgeny U. could not be reached.

Vladimir Z.’s house is located in a quiet street in Pruszkow, a 25-minute drive from Warsaw. Next to the house, there is a path leading to the garden, where a Ukrainian-registered Ford Transit is parked. Vladimir Z. works at a small Polish heating company, located just three kilometers away from his home. The man leads a very orderly life, at least externally. However, according to German investigators, he is a central figure in the open-sea drama surrounding the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

When SZ reached out to Vladimir Z., he heard of the suspicion brought against him for the first time. In response to the question of whether he was involved in the attack, Vladimir said, “No.” But how did the suspicion come to light?

Following traces, investigators came across a white Citroën van, which they spotted on Rügen Island shortly after midnight on September 8, 2022. The Andromeda ship was moored in a harbor in the northwest part of the island. The license plate led the investigators to a Ukrainian courier service. During another trip in Germany, the police interrogated the driver. They showed him three photos of divers – one of whom identified himself as Vladimir Z., who was likely also visible as a passenger in the speed camera image. The driver said they were tasked with transporting a group from Ukraine to Germany and later pick them up.

Poland and political issues

At the end of June, authorities decided to send a mutual legal assistance request to Poland and issued a European arrest warrant for Vladimir Z. This further reinforced the evidence that Ukraine was behind the attack.

And here arises a highly sensitive political question: why have the Polish authorities still not executed the arrest warrant, having received a mutual legal assistance request for the arrest of Vladimir Z. at the end of June?

It seems that the newly elected Polish government last year had difficulty providing administrative assistance to the German authorities. After all, Poland was considered one of the most vehement critics of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which made Poland, as a transit country for Russian gas, insignificant. This came with significant losses. From a Polish perspective, a suspect of sabotage would probably be more of a hero than a criminal. Should he be extradited? Or would it be better to quietly let him go? It seems that Warsaw has never been interested in resolving this matter. According to investigators, the Polish authorities were “unwieldy from the start.”

It seems that traces were lost in the port city of Kolobrzeg in Poland, where the Andromeda docked with a sabotage team between September 19 and 20, 2022. The personal data later published by Warsaw proved to be completely unusable. Investigators sometimes felt that Poland deliberately allowed the investigation to leak.

The disappearance of Vladimir Z. also fits into this picture. Therefore, until recently, the German government did not know how to respond to Poland’s response to the request from Karlsruhe. The arrest warrant for Vladimir Z. has become a political issue on two fronts: because of Poland’s role and because of Ukraine’s role.