The 46-year-old Ukrainian was wanted on an international arrest warrant and was arrested on September 30, 2025 in Poland. The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe suspects him of involvement in the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in September 2022.
"The German extradition request 'does not deserve to be considered,'" Lubowski said in explanation. "That's how it should be. The case is closed," commented Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on the X platform, who has been advocating for the detainee's release from the very beginning.
The court, as the judge pointed out, did not consider whether the suspect actually committed the crime that the German side is charging him with, but solely whether that crime constitutes the basis for the execution of the European arrest warrant.
Lubowski took the opportunity to harshly criticize Germany
“The Polish court in this case does not have primary evidence, because the German side has only sent very general information,” the judge said. Although the German extradition request is “formally correctly drafted,” “all information directly related to the crime is contained on one A4 page,” he complained.
Lubovsky stressed that the attack on Nord Stream occurred during “Russia’s bloody aggression against Ukraine that has been going on since 2014” – an aggression “that has the character of genocide.” He called the Ukrainian war a “just war.” Ukrainian soldiers, he said, should not be classified as terrorists or saboteurs because they are defending the homeland and weakening the enemy.
The destruction of an aggressor's critical infrastructure in a just war, according to him, does not constitute sabotage, but rather "military action" and "diversion" that cannot be considered a crime.
If Ukraine organized the destruction of enemy gas pipelines, it was not illegal, but "justified, rational and fair," the judge believes. The Ukrainian state may be responsible for this, but not the individual Volodymyr Zh.
Politicization of the German judiciary?
The judge also expressed doubts about the applicability of German law to the diversion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, given that the incident occurred in international waters. Lubowski also criticized Germany itself, accusing Berlin of “buying gas from Russia and thereby transferring billions of euros to the Russian side,” effectively financing Russian aggression.
He called the pipelines Russian property, which, in his opinion, called into question the right of the German judiciary to prosecute the Nord Stream diversion case at all. “Should Ukraine, when it is now attacking Russia’s critical infrastructure, first analyze the ownership structure of the target and only choose those facilities in which Germany does not even have a minority stake?” the judge asked ironically.
In his ruling, Lubovski presented the defense's arguments against extradition in great detail. Volodymyr Ž.'s defense attorney accused the German judiciary of "politicizing the courts and the complete dependence of judges on the executive branch." "Judges are appointed and promoted by politicians," the judge quoted the defense as saying. German courts, especially federal courts, are, according to this claim, staffed by party members, have no "material immunity," and can be prosecuted for their judgments.
The judge was already in the public spotlight
This is not the first time Judge Lubovski has been in the spotlight. In January 2022, he refused to extradite Belarusian blogger Stjepan Puzilu to the Minsk regime. At that time, the Belarusian prosecutor's office opened criminal proceedings against him.
In September 2020, he refused to extradite two parents of a child with autism to Dutch authorities, stating that the child in the Netherlands was “at risk of euthanasia.” At the time, he also harshly criticized the Dutch judiciary and questioned its independence.
The defense in this case also accused German politicians of being "undermined and corrupted" by Russia. This, they claim, could lead to the extradition of the persecuted Ukrainian to Russia and his possible death.
Germany may appeal
The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe suspects Volodymyr Z. of participating in the attack on Nord Stream in September 2022. Last week, the District Court in Warsaw extended his detention for another 40 days - until November 9. The suspect's lawyer, Timoteusz Paprocki, said after the verdict that this was "one of the most important verdicts in the history of Polish justice." The verdict, according to him, shows that Ukrainian citizens cannot be prosecuted for their fight against the aggressor - Russia. "It is also a message to Germany - the law should protect victims, not be instrumentalized."
The verdict is not yet final. Both parties can appeal within three days.
"I hope that the German judiciary, the federal prosecutor, will thoroughly consider the meaning of today's verdict," said the lawyer. According to him, Z. plans to stay in Poland with his family. The Ukrainian has been living near Warsaw for three years and runs a construction company.
Nord Stream – a thorn in Poland's side
The Nord Stream project, which was politically launched in 2005 by then-German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was a thorn in the side of Polish authorities from the very beginning. Initially, Warsaw complained about the loss of transit fees, as Russian gas had previously passed through Poland to Western Europe. Later, geopolitical reasons came to the fore.
Back in 2006, then-Defense Minister Radoslav Sikorski compared the Baltic Sea gas pipeline to the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939. Since then, Polish criticism of the German-Russian project has been a constant topic in bilateral relations, regardless of who was in power in Warsaw.
The rejection of the German extradition request, especially with the harsh criticism of Germany in the justification, could further worsen relations between Warsaw and Berlin – which are already tense at the moment. Because the border controls introduced in May by Germany, and then by Poland, have damaged mutual relations. These and other disputes will be discussed at German-Polish intergovernmental consultations in early December 2025 in Berlin.
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