A Ukrainian man suspected of being involved in causing undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in 2022 has been arrested in Poland, a spokesperson for the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw has said.

The man, named as Volodymyr Z, was detained in Pruszków, central Poland, according to Polish radio station RMF FM, which first reported his arrest. He has been transferred to the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw.

The man, whose full name was not released due to privacy rules, had been detained on a European arrest warrant issued by German authorities, said Piotr Antoni Skiba, a spokesperson for the office.

A spokesperson for Germany’s federal prosecutor did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

Another Ukrainian man was arrested in Italy last month in connection with the explosions on the undersea pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Tymoteusz Paprocki, Volodymyr Z’s lawyer, told RMF FM: “Taking into consideration the full-scale war in Ukraine and the fact that Nord Stream is owned by the Russian company Gazprom, which finances these activities, the defence currently does not see any possibility of pressing charges against anyone who participated in these events.”

The lawyer said it was not certain whether his client had been involved in the sabotage and he was awaiting official information about the intentions of the German justice system in pressing charges. The defence would fight extradition, the lawyer said.

Undersea explosions on 26 September 2022 damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour

According to RMF FM, German authorities say the man is a diving instructor and in September 2022 sailed to the Baltic Sea on a yacht, from which he dived underwater and placed the explosive on the pipeline.