The Ukrainian diver allegedly behind the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines managed to escape a German arrest warrant with the help of Ukraine and possibly Poland, Der Spiegel has claimed.

revealed that Berlin had issued an arrest warrant for “Vladimir Z,” a former Ukrainian military diver who they alleged had planted the explosive charges on the pipeline. Russian outlets have identified the suspect as Vladimir Zhuravlev.

“Why should we arrest him? For us, he is a hero!” Der Spiegel quoted German security officials as paraphrasing their Polish counterparts. 

The German outlet noted that Zhuravlev and his family entered Germany in May, on their way to Denmark. They even found the exact apartment in Copenhagen where the Zhuravlevs stayed, in the Bryggen Syd neighborhood. On May 26, the family takes the ferry to Rostock and stops in Berlin, on their way back to Warsaw.

“very angry” with Poland and will not forget Warsaw’s “foul play.”

Responding to media reports about the attack, former head of German intelligence August Hanning claimed earlier this month that Poland and Ukraine likely worked together. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded by telling all “initiators and patrons” of Nord Stream to “apologize and keep quiet.”

with or without Vladimir Zelensky’s blessing – being responsible for the Nord Stream sabotage surfaced only after Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that the US government was behind the blasts.