Polish court blocks extradition and frees Ukrainian suspected in Nord Stream pipeline blasts

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish court on Friday blocked the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and ordered his release, a ruling that was welcomed by Poland's prime minister.

Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 46, was arrested near Warsaw Sept. 30 on a German warrant. German prosecutors have described him as a trained diver and allege that he was part of a group that placed explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm three years ago.

The Warsaw District Court rejected his extradition on Friday and ordered his immediate release.

The man's lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, said ahead of the hearing that “my client doesn’t admit guilt, he didn’t commit any crime against Germany and he doesn’t understand why these charges were made by the German side.” He said he also would argue that no Ukrainian should be charged with any action directed against Russia.

Judge Dariusz Lubowski said as he announced his ruling that the attack on the pipelines should be understood as a military action in a “just war," and therefore not subject to criminal responsibility on the part of an individual. He also questioned German jurisdiction for various reasons, including the fact that the explosions occurred in international waters.

Poland, whose successive governments have been staunchly anti-Russian, has a history of opposition to the pipelines. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said it would not be in Poland's interest to hand over the suspect.

Tusk noted in a post on X Friday that the court had rejected extradition, “and rightly so." He added that "the case is closed.”

Undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, severely damaged the pipelines. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources, following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was inaugurated in 2011 and carried Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea until Russia cut off supplies at the end of August 2022.

They also damaged the parallel Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Germany had previously pushed ahead with the Nord Stream 2 project despite opposition from central and eastern European countries and the U.S., which argued it would increase Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and give Russia the possibility of using gas as a geopolitical weapon.

Tusk said earlier this month that “the problem of Europe, the problem of Ukraine, the problem of Lithuania and Poland is not that Nord Stream 2 was blown up, but that it was built." He said that “the only people who should be ashamed of and quiet about Nord Stream 2 are those who decided to build it."

At the time of his arrest, Zhuravlov was a resident of Poland, where he lived with his wife and children, Polish prosecutors say. His wife has told Polish media her husband is innocent and that they were together in Poland at the time the pipelines were blown up.

He is one of two Ukrainians whose extradition German judicial authorities have been trying to secure in the case.

A man suspected to have been one of the coordinators of the attack was arrested in Italy in August. This week, Italy's top court annulled a lower court's decision to order his extradition and called for another panel of judges to reassess the case, his lawyer said.

The German government has declined to comment on Tusk’s remarks this month, and has noted that the ongoing proceedings are in prosecutors' hands. Neither the government nor German federal prosecutors, who are in charge of the case, had any comment on Friday's ruling.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Zhuravlov.

CAPTION CORRECTS THE SPELLING - Ukrainian defendant Volodymyr Zhuravlov, right, shakes hands with his lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki, left, as a judge announce the decision not to allow for extradition to Germany in courtroom of Warsaw's Regional Court in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ukrainian defendant Volodymyr Zuravlov, right, shakes hands with his lawyer Tymoteusz Paprocki, left, as a judge announce the decision not to allow for extradition to Germany in courtroom of Warsaw's Regional Court in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ukrainian defendant Volodymyr Zuravlov listens as a judge announces the decision not to allow for extradition to Germany in courtroom of Warsaw's Regional Court in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ukrainian man who has been identified only as Volodymyr Z, second right, who is suspected by German prosecutors of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines leaves the courtroom of a regional court in Warsaw ,Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ukrainian man who has been identified only as Volodymyr Z, right, who is suspected by German prosecutors of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines leaves the courtroom of a regional court in Warsaw ,Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ukrainian man who has been identified only as Volodymyr Z, center, who is suspected by German prosecutors of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines leaves the courtroom of a regional court in Warsaw ,Poland, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Hughes held the ball in his hands, occasionally tossing his latest souvenir in the air.

Hughes had done “Saturday Night Live” and cherished the chance to chat with Lorne Michaels, then appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as part of the victory lap for the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. It only got better Friday when Hughes and women's goaltender Aerin Frankel threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins.

“I knew a lot of things were coming, but this was the one thing I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for,” Hughes said. "Just so much fun. For both of us, it’s unreal."

Hughes scored in overtime in the men's final at the Milan Cortina Games, a few days after Frankel backstopped the women's team to also beating Canada for gold. It's the first time the U.S. has won double gold in the sport at the Olympics, and the sled hockey team made it a clean sweep at the Paralympics.

Frankel said her life hasn't changed much since other than seeing the impact the physical gold medal has on people who had never seen one.

“It’s cool to see how special that is for them,” said Frankel, who plays for the PHWL's Boston Fleet. “We’ve been super busy jumping back into pro seasons and stuff and making time for really cool opportunities like this.”

Frankel is from Westchester County and grew up in a family of Yankees fans. Hughes has become one over the seven years he has been in the area as the face of the franchise for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.

Hughes played some baseball growing up, but needed to get his right throwing arm warmed up.

“We played in Dallas last week and my trainer ‘Frosty’ (Chris Scoppetto) brought gloves and I threw like 50 pitches right before morning skate,” Hughes said. “My shoulder was so sore, so I was like, ‘We’ve got to cool it.'”

Hughes' shoulder was fine. He scored twice that night against the Stars and had a five-point game Thursday night on the eve of his big baseball day.

Less than 24 hours after making 22 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg and U.S. Olympic starter Connor Hellebuyck, Oettinger threw a strike on his pitch from the top of the mound before the Texas Rangers' home opener. He got a loud ovation, with chants of “U-S-A!” when he was introduced.

That came after the national anthem, during which Rangers fans, like those at Stars games, yelled “Stars!” at both times that phrase came up in the song.

Oettinger wore his U.S. jersey and gold medal that everybody wants to see. Like Frankel, he said the coolest part to him is letting “other people wear it or take pictures with it and how excited they get. ... It just shows you how big the Olympics are. I think when you’re over there playing in it, you don’t really realize the magnitude, and then you get back and see how much it means to everyone is the best part.”

Oettinger, who played baseball until he was about 12, said he threw some Thursday with his younger brother, Thomas, who soon will turn 12. His brother was with him on the field and when they met former president George W. Bush, the former Rangers owner who was also at the game

“Brought my little brother and I got to take him through the clubhouse, and just a first-class organization,” Oettinger said. “Got to meet President Bush, so it has been a great day.”

A little over six weeks since scoring the tying goal late in the gold-medal game on a deflection of captain Hilary Knight's shot, Cleveland Heights' Laila Edwards got a rousing ovation for her first pitch from the mound over the plate before the Guardians' home opener.

“It’s so exciting, especially growing up and being a fan of Cleveland baseball,” Edwards said. “I played baseball in the backyard with my brother. He’s jealous, but I have to make him proud.”

Edwards, who's 22 and considered Knight's successor as the face of women's hockey in the U.S., has done a lot of winning so far this year. She helped Wisconsin to the second of back-to-back national titles, an experience she called surreal.

“I’m having so much fun and being grateful,” Edwards said. “We got back from the Olympics and three days later we were starting NCAA playoffs, so there was no rest there. That’s what we signed up for. And then to be able to win and meant everything."

AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Olympic gold medal hockey player Laila Edwards throws out a ceremonial first pitch before an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger throws a ceremonial first pitch prior to the Texas Rangers' home-opener baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes looks on during batting practice before his ceremonial first pitch for the home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes practices ahead of his first pitch before a home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)