Polish court approves 7-day detention of Nord Stream suspect

WARSAW - A Polish district court on Wednesday granted the prosecutor's office's request to detain Volodymyr Z., a suspect in the Nord Stream explosions, for seven days, according to the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Volodymyr Z., a Ukrainian citizen, has been wanted by Germany over his alleged involvement in the explosions.

Piotr Antoni Skiba, spokesperson for the Warsaw district prosecutor's office, said that whether the man will be extradited to Germany will be decided by the court after reviewing relevant documents, a process that could take up to 100 days.

Anna Wielgolewska, judge of the Warsaw District Court, said the seven-day detention is a preliminary measure, adding that a special unit in Poland is conducting an investigation into the matter.

Earlier, Polish media, citing information from Germany, reported that Volodymyr Z. is a diving instructor who, in September 2022, sailed from Rostock in northern Germany to the Baltic Sea on a yacht and subsequently placed explosives on the underwater pipeline.

The man was detained on Tuesday in Pruszkow, about 15 kilometers west of Warsaw, under a European arrest warrant issued by a German court.