Ukrainian man arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream pipeline blasts

A Ukrainian man has been arrested in Croatia on suspicion of taking part in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.

The suspect is alleged by German authorities to have been one of the scuba divers who planted explosives on the pipelines in September 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He is the second man to be arrested over the plot, which has strained relations between Kyiv and Berlin - one of the key European backers for Ukraine's war effort.

"The suspect participated in the necessary dives" for the sabotage, German prosecutors alleged, adding they were pursuing the suspect's extradition from Croatia.

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Prosecutors identified the man only as trained scuba diver Vladimir Z, however he is understood to be Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was arrested in Poland in 2025 over the undersea plot.

In that case, a Polish judge refused a German extradition request, arguing that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a "just" act.

Zhuravlyov was then released, prompting a ripple of surprise from the crowd in court and a smile from the man in the dock.

The other suspect in the case is former Ukrainian military officer Serhiy Kuznetsov. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and later extradited to Germany where he is set to face trial. He has denied responsibility for the explosions and appeared before a court in Hamburg in June.

Prosecutors allege Kuznetsov led a team that used a yacht rented at Rostock in Germany to plant explosives on the pipelines close to the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

In a letter sent to the United Nations Security Council following the explosions, and reported by Reuters at the time, German investigators said "traces of subsea explosives were found in the samples taken from the boat".

Although the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was in operation at the time, Nord Stream 2 had yet to go into service.

After Zhuravlyov's planned extradition from Croatia, officials said he will be brought before an investigating judge to face charges of causing explosions and sabotage.

Blame for the blasts, which crippled a long-controversial energy supply line from Russia to Germany, initially focused on Moscow until signs of Ukrainian involvement began to emerge.

Officials in Kyiv have repeatedly denied any role .

German courts have treated the destruction of Nord Stream 1 as falling within their jurisdiction because the pipelines end at Lubmin in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Prosecutors have also alleged the pipelines' destruction affected the country's energy security and internal safety.

Germany played a key role in the Nord Stream project, including providing technical expertise and political support ahead of its launch - which was attended by then Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011.

Poland was always been a vocal critic of the pipeline project with Russia, arguing it made Berlin too dependent on Moscow. The route also deprived Poland of transit fees for the gas. Ukraine and the US were also longstanding opponents of the pipelines.

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