WARSAW, ROME: On October 17, courts in Poland and Italy both refused to send two Ukrainian men to Germany, where they are suspected of helping carry out the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline attack, and ordered their release.

Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 46, was arrested near Warsaw on September 30 under a German warrant, and Serhii Kuznietsov, 49, was arrested in Bologna, Italy. German prosecutors say Zhuravlov is a trained diver who helped place explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm three years ago.

The Warsaw District Court rejected Germany's extradition request for Zhuravlov and ordered his immediate release.

His lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, said Zhuravlov denies the charges and "doesn't understand why Germany made such accusations." He added that no Ukrainian should face charges for actions against Russia.

Judge Dariusz Lubowski said the pipeline explosions should be seen as a "military action" during a "just war," so the suspect should not face criminal responsibility. He also questioned whether Germany had the right to prosecute, since the blasts happened in international waters.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who strongly opposes the Nord Stream projects, agreed with the decision. In a post on X, he said the court "rightly" rejected the extradition and that "the case is closed."

The Nord Stream explosions on September 26, 2022, badly damaged two pipelines that carried Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The incident deepened tensions during the war in Ukraine, as Europe was trying to reduce its dependence on Russian energy after Moscow's full-scale invasion. 

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, opened in 2011, had already stopped operating when Russia cut off gas supplies in August 2022. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was never used because Germany suspended its approval shortly before the invasion.

Many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, along with the United States, had long opposed Nord Stream 2, warning it would make Europe too dependent on Russian gas and give the Kremlin political leverage.

Tusk said earlier this month that the problem was not the destruction of Nord Stream 2, but that it was built at all. "Those who should be ashamed of Nord Stream 2," he said, "are the ones who decided to build it."

Polish prosecutors said Zhuravlov had been living in Poland with his wife and children. His wife told local media he was innocent and that he was with her in Poland when the explosions happened.

Meanwhile, Italy's highest court also rejected Germany's request to extradite Kuznietsov. The Cassation Court in Rome overturned an earlier ruling by a Bologna appeals court that had approved his extradition and ordered a new panel of judges to review the case.

Kuznietsov's lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, said the reasons for the top court's decision have not yet been published. He added that he would now consider asking for his client's release, since "the legal basis for detention no longer exists."

The German government has declined to comment on Tusk's remarks or on the court decisions in Poland and Italy, saying the matter remains with prosecutors.