Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government has a clear position on the Nord Stream sabotage case, speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene.
“It’s not my job to find out why a Ukrainian citizen returned to Poland despite knowing about a European arrest warrant, but our position hasn’t changed. It is certainly not in the interests of Poles to accuse or hand this citizen over to another state. The decision will be up to the court,” Tusk said.
Tusk also argued the problem with Nord Stream 2 wasn’t that it was blown up, but that it was built with European money—something he said played a key role in Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
On Polsat News, National Security Council head Slawomir Cenckiewicz backed Tusk’s stance on the extradition of Volodymyr Zhuravlyov. “Officially I’ll say this: Poland should not lend a hand to any operation to hand over a person who harmed Russia. We need to find a formula that keeps us within the law and at the same time doesn’t hand over to the Germans or the Russians someone who damaged the Russian war machine.”
On October 7, as a hearing in Zhuravlyov’s case was underway, supporters rallied outside the courthouse. Some demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans, criticizing Tusk for an allegedly pro-German stance and Germany for backing energy ties with Russia.
In late September 2022, a series of explosions damaged the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The blasts were recorded near Denmark’s Bornholm Island in the Baltic Sea. Soon after, four leaks were detected on three of the four pipeline strings.
German investigators say seven Ukrainian citizens took part in the attack: four divers, an explosives expert, the captain of the yacht Andromeda and the team leader, Serhiy K., who was later detained in Italy.
In September 2025, Russian presidential aide and head of the Maritime Board Nikolai Patrushev criticized the German version of events and suggested the blasts were carried out by representatives of NATO special services.
