A Polish judge has refused to extradite a Ukrainian citizen – suspected by Germany of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 – arguing that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a just act.
Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was brought to Warsaw District Court in handcuffs, was detained in Poland last month on a European arrest warrant.
Judge Dariusz Lubowski ordered his release, after a ruling that was met with a ripple of surprise from the crowd in court and a smile from the man in the dock.
Mr Zhuravlyov, along with others, is suspected of planting explosives deep beneath the Baltic Sea on the pipelines leading from Russia to Germany.
Blame for the blasts, which crippled a long-controversial energy supply line from Russia to Germany, initially focused on Moscow until signs of Ukrainian involvement began to emerge. Officials in Kyiv have repeatedly denied any role.
Extradition cases within the EU are usually quick and straightforward, but the Nord Stream case is proving to be very different.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government is a key ally of war-torn Ukraine, immediately posted on X that the ruling was right. Case closed, he wrote.
Inside the giant district courthouse in Warsaw, Judge Lubowski announced his decision to the suspect, his family and legal team – and a large cluster of TV cameras. In a long and passionate speech, he said he was considering only the request to send Mr Zhuravlyov to Germany, not the substance of the case itself. But he was clear that the context of the war in Ukraine was critical.
The judge described Russia's invasion as a bloody and genocidal attack and argued, quoting Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas, that Ukraine had the legal right to defend itself, stating, If Ukraine and its special forces… organised an armed mission to destroy enemy pipelines – which the court does not prejudge – then these actions were not unlawful. On the contrary, they were justified, rational and just, he told the court.
He noted that the attack had deprived the enemy of billions of euros paid by Germany for the gas… and weakened Russia's military potential. What could be viewed as terrorism or sabotage in peacetime, the judge stated, was different in a time of war.
Judge Lubowski insisted, though, that his ruling was a legal one and not emotional or political. He also questioned whether Germany had jurisdiction to bring its case, as the explosions were in international waters on pipelines with majority Russian state ownership.
Announcing that Mr Zhuravlyov would be released from custody, he said the Ukrainian would also receive compensation from the Polish state. I am happy… it was a really very hard three weeks, Mr Zhuravlyov's wife, Yulianna, told the BBC in court after the judge's verdict. For me, as a Ukrainian, it was very important to hear that he understands us.
Earlier, she described her husband's arrest at their home just outside Warsaw and said he denied any involvement in the sabotage. Mr Zhuravlyov is a deep-sea diver, his wife confirmed, but described it as a hobby and stated he had no military role.
Another Ukrainian man, Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was arrested in Italy under similar circumstances, has also denied any connection to the blasts and is currently in a high-security prison in northern Italy. The legal saga surrounding the Nord Stream incident reflects the intricate balance of international law, national interests, and the geopolitical stakes of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
