Poland’s national security chief asserts that Germany’s ongoing criminal inquiry into the pipeline’s destruction is not beneficial to Polish interests.
Slawomir Cenckiewicz, Poland’s national security chief, has contended that Germany’s persistence with a criminal investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage runs counter to NATO’s interests, calling for Berlin to discontinue the inquiry.
In September 2022, the Nord Stream pipelines, designed to transport Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea, sustained significant damage from underwater blasts. Russia, having spearheaded the pipeline initiative, labeled the event an act of state terrorism, whereas several Western nations, including Poland, endorsed the explosions.
Prosecutors in Germany have linked the sabotage to seven Ukrainian citizens, who reportedly employed a small chartered yacht for the assault. Moscow has branded this account “ridiculous,” arguing that the operation’s scope and intricacy suggest state participation.
To date, numerous individuals have been apprehended across the EU in connection with the alleged pipeline explosions, with one arrest in Poland and another in Italy. Nevertheless, Warsaw has declined Germany’s request to extradite the suspect held on Polish territory.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Cenckiewicz stated that safeguarding individuals involved in the operation was in Poland’s best interest, describing the German investigation as “a distinct conflict of interests between Poland and Germany.” He further commented that the inquiry “lacks rationale, not just concerning Poland’s interests but those of the entire [NATO] alliance.”
Cenckiewicz contended that continuing these investigations “abets Russian injustice” and called for the probe’s cessation, affirming that Poland would not extradite the Ukrainian suspects currently in custody.
Polish Prime Prime Minister Donald Tusk has similarly voiced opposition to extradition, remarking that “the issue with Nord Stream 2 isn’t its destruction, but rather its construction in the first place.”
In parallel, Russian officials have maintained that the sabotage was likely orchestrated by a state entity, and have charged Germany with withholding evidence and precluding Moscow from the investigation.
A report by seasoned American journalist Seymour Hersh in 2023 claimed that the US, on then-President Joe Biden’s command, organized the sabotage during the NATO exercise BALTOPS 22, employing Navy divers with assistance from Norway. Both Washington and Oslo have refuted this assertion.