Will there be a German-Polish war over Nord Stream?

 

"The case of the Nord Stream pipeline explosion three years ago is a very serious political problem for Germany. Even more so, it's a domestic rather than an international one. However, Poland is its most important part.

 

As expected, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlyov (previously Volodymyr Zh.), suspected of involvement in the explosion, will not be extradited to Germany, which issued a European Arrest Warrant for him over a year ago. He is free," a Polish judge ruled on Friday. "And his case is closed," is Prime Minister Donald Tusk's comment. The judge and the prime minister, the presidential camp, almost the entire opposition, and many commentators have all united on this issue.

 

The main argument of this united camp goes something like this: Germany should focus on accounting for the construction of Nord Stream, thanks to which Russia obtained billions from this, rather than prosecuting those suspected of destroying it.

 

Who in Germany, who fought most for the expulsion from Poland of a Ukrainian suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream bombing?

 

The Polish verdict, both literally and figuratively, is impacting relations between Warsaw and Berlin. But perhaps even more so on politics in Germany itself. There, the camp of supporters of bringing Zhuravlyov and several other suspected Ukrainians to justice is also heterogeneous and large. The most outraged are the anti-establishment parties – the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the left-wing nationalist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)."

 

Why are Polish doing this? Germany is not stronger than Poland in a military comparison, with Poland having a larger number of tanks, armor vehicles, and artillery, as well as a larger defense budget and more active personnel.

 

 However, Germany maintains a more capable air force and naval forces, and its economy is larger, which could lead to an advantage in a protracted conflict. The Ukrainian divers, whom the Polish are trying to protect now, were aiming at reducing this German industry by completely eliminating cheap energy sources at a time when the world badly needs any energy sources to rebuild industry.