German investigators are now accusing Poland of not executing the European arrest and search warrants issued against Z. by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in June. Germany’s federal criminal police and Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office are displeased. An official familiar with the investigation made a serious accusation to WELT AM SONNTAG, claiming that Poland was sabotaging the investigation. Another person familiar with the investigation called the episode “obstruction of justice.”
That’s not an uncommon view in Germany.
“The Polish government obviously let him go in order to cover up its own involvement in the attack on the pipelines,” August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, told WELT AM SONNTAG. He is convinced that the presidents of Poland and Ukraine, Andrzej Duda and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were aware of the attack plans. “Operations of such dimensions are inconceivable without the approval of the political leaders of the countries involved,” said Hanning.
Investigators say that the six-man diving crew that allegedly planted the explosives from the sailing yacht “Andromeda” had been trained in Poland. Investigators also believe Warsaw may have provided logistical support for the underwater operation. Crew members on the Andromeda are suspected of having taken on board equipment necessary for the attack in the seaside resort of Kołobrzeg, where the vessel made a stopover seven days before the explosions.
German investigators are also accusing the Polish authorities of deliberately withholding video recordings from the marina in Kołobrzeg. That refusal has fueled German suspicions of a coverup.
In Poland, authorities say they are outraged by the accusations coming from Germany. “The allegation that Ukraine carried out this action with Polish knowledge is completely unfounded,” Jacek Siewiera, the head of the Poland’s National Security Bureau, told WELT AM SONNTAG. He said accusations and insinuations are coming from a close circle of former pro-Russian officials who no longer hold positions of power. “I hope that we are not dealing with an organized disinformation campaign in which people have allowed themselves to be used to blame Poland,” said Siewiera. Poland, he said, is investigating all leads, including the possibility that Russia was involved in the attack.
