Polish judge refuses to extradite Ukrainian Nord Stream blasts suspect

Poland has refused to extradite a Ukrainian man suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines, citing international law and the context of the war in Ukraine. The judge's decision was met with surprise from observers and a smile from the suspect.

Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who is wanted by Germany under an European Arrest Warrant for his alleged involvement in the 2022 underwater explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline, walked free from court after Judge Dariusz Lubowski ruled that he should be released. The judge stated that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a "just" act.

Lubowski's ruling emphasizes the importance of considering international law and the context of war when making decisions on extraditions. According to the judge, if Ukraine had organized an armed mission to destroy enemy pipelines, these actions were justified and rational. The judge also pointed out that Germany has jurisdiction issues in this case due to the majority Russian state ownership of the pipelines.

Poland's decision not to extradite Zhuravlyov marks a significant departure from the usual quick extradition process within the European Union. This highlights how the Nord Stream case is proving to be very different, with complex factors at play including diplomatic relationships and historical context.

In his ruling, Lubowski also questioned whether Germany had jurisdiction even to bring its case, given that the explosions occurred in international waters on pipelines with majority Russian state ownership. He insisted that his decision was based solely on the request to send Zhuravlyov to Germany and not on the substance of the case itself.

The suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, is a deep-sea diver with no military role, according to his wife. He has been living in Poland since February 2022 and was arrested at their home. His wife stated that he denied any involvement in the sabotage and expressed relief over the judge's decision.

This development comes as another Ukrainian man, Serhiy Kuznetsov, is currently in a high-security prison in northern Italy after being detained on charges related to "unconstitutional sabotage".

this ruling from Poland & Ukraine is getting me all sorts of thoughts i mean, judge Lubowski basically said that if ukraine was behind the nord stream explosion, it wasnt exactly an illegal act cuz of war and all that. which kinda blows up germany's case against ukrainian diver zhuravlyov anyway, its clear poland & ukraine are playing a big game here with diplomatic relations, historical context & jurisdictional issues

OMG, this ruling by Judge Lubowski is like, totally blowing minds ! I just looked at the stats and it says 75% of EU countries have jurisdiction issues with Germany's case against Zhuravlyov . And get this, Poland is like, breaking all the rules ! This means that if Ukraine did indeed orchestrate the sabotage, then according to Lubowski, those actions would be considered "just" .

I also found out that the explosions occurred in international waters and pipelines with majority Russian state ownership . This just shows how complex things are getting . Did you know that 40% of EU countries think Germany has no jurisdiction over this case? It's like, totally confusing!

I'm kinda glad Poland took a stand here... I mean, it's not like they're excusing some crazy act of terrorism or something. It just shows that they're looking out for their own interests and the international law thingy. Plus, if Ukraine is gonna deny any involvement, then yeah, maybe it was just a justified move? Not saying it's cool or anything, but you get my point. And Germany, well... they gotta be careful too. Those pipelines are in Russian waters and all that jazz. I guess this whole thing is like one big mess of politics and diplomacy. Can't really say who's right or wrong here...

another russian spy walks free it's like they think they can just swim away from the law... deep-sea diver or not, this guy was part of a bigger game and now he gets to enjoy his freedom while others are stuck in prison for 'unconstitutional sabotage' meanwhile, germany is still trying to figure out who was behind those Nord Stream bombings... and it's getting weirder by the day

omg this is insane!!! Poland just refused to extradite this guy Volodymyr Zhuravlyov suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines and it's all because they think he was justified in taking out those pipelines if Ukraine was behind the attack . i mean what even is that logic? The judge basically said if you're attacking an enemy pipeline, it's a "just" act . Germany is having jurisdiction issues too due to the Russian ownership of the pipelines . This whole thing is just a mess and Poland's decision to not extradite him is like a big middle finger to the EU . And can we talk about how the suspect has no military role but gets arrested for it anyway? his wife is all "he denied any involvement" and now he's free . This just goes to show that international law is not always black and white, and sometimes countries make decisions based on their own interests .

I'm low-key shocked that Poland stood up for Ukraine like this . I mean, who doesn't want to help their neighbors when they're being attacked? It's all about perspective, right? Maybe the judge was just thinking outside the box and recognizing that the Nord Stream pipelines are basically Russian territory anyway . And let's be real, Germany's got some serious jurisdiction issues going on with those pipelines – majority Russian state ownership and all that jazz . So yeah, I'm good with Poland doing its own thing here . It's not like they're letting Ukraine off the hook or anything...

I mean, can we just talk about how complex this situation is? Like, Poland's decision not to extradite Zhuravlyov seems like a reasonable thing to do, considering the majority Russian state ownership of the pipelines and the fact that he's a deep-sea diver with no military role. It's not like he was involved in any official Ukrainian government operations...

And I get why Germany is still trying to hold him accountable for the sabotage, but it feels like they're kinda being unreasonable about it too. Like, if Ukraine didn't do it and there's no clear evidence that Zhuravlyov was involved, then maybe we shouldn't be so quick to extradite someone who's already been living in Poland with his family...

I also wonder what this says about the whole Nord Stream situation - it feels like there are a lot of grey areas here and not just black-and-white answers. Is this the start of something bigger, or is it just a weird anomaly?

this whole thing has me thinking... what if we're being too quick to assume guilty without all the facts? I mean, Ukraine's been at war with Russia for years, and now we're trying to extradite one of their citizens for sabotaging a pipeline? It's like, hold up! We gotta consider the bigger picture here. And what about Poland's stance on it? They're basically saying that if another country is involved in something that might be seen as justified, then they can't just go after someone without looking at all the circumstances... it's a good point, imo

I'm shocked by this ruling . I mean, I get what the judge was trying to say about considering international law and the context of war, but come on! A guy who's basically a deep-sea diver is walking free after being accused of sabotaging pipelines? It just doesn't add up .

I'm also kinda curious why Germany would even bother pursuing this case if it's that murky . And what's with the jurisdiction issues? If Russia owns like 75% of those pipelines, shouldn't they be handling their own security?

But you know what really gets me is that there are still these Ukrainian guys out there who are getting pinched for allegedly being involved in sabotage. It just feels like the whole situation is super complicated and messy .

This ruling by Judge Lubowski raises some big questions about accountability and diplomacy. I mean, if Germany's got jurisdiction issues with this case due to majority Russian ownership of the pipelines, does that mean their case is as legit as a Polish one? It's all about perspective, right? Poland's stance here shows they're not afraid to stick up for themselves or Ukraine in the face of potential EU pressure. This whole situation feels like a classic example of how the EU and Germany are trying to pin the blame on Russia without really addressing their own role in the conflict. What do you think - is this just a case of Germany being too slow to act, or are they just trying to deflect from their own responsibilities?

just read about this and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it . so like, germany wants to extradite this guy for sabotaging the nord stream pipelines but poland is all "nope" because of international law and the fact that ukraine was at war with russia at the time? it's like, a gray area or something. personally i think if you were fighting a war in another country, then yeah maybe some questionable actions are justified...but idk, don't have all the facts here. anyone else got thoughts on this one?

just thinkin' about it...if germany had jurisdiction issues with nord stream pipelines bein owned by majority russian state ownership...then how can they bring charges against ukraine? seems like a whole lotta hooey to me...anyway, lubowski's ruling is pretty interesting...like, if ukraine did organize the sabotage, then it's justified...just a weird context tho [link to article about Lubowski's background](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dariusz_Lubowski)

OMG, this case is SO complicated ! I mean, who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory? But seriously, the judge's ruling is like, super nuanced. He's basically saying that if Ukraine did do it (and honestly, how can you blame them after what Russia has done?), then maybe those actions weren't so bad after all? It's like, context matters, right?

But at the same time, I'm kinda worried about the precedent this sets. If we start questioning Germany's jurisdiction in cases related to international waters, it could get messy fast . And what about the other Ukrainian guy, Serhiy Kuznetsov? He's still stuck in Italy, while Zhuravlyov gets to go free .

I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on this one and see how it all plays out . One thing's for sure, though - this case is going to be a wild ride !