A Ukrainian individual was apprehended on Wednesday in Croatia for his alleged involvement in underwater blasts that caused damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany in 2022, as per Germany’s federal prosecutor. The man, identified as Vladimir Z., was taken into custody in Pula, Croatia, under a European warrant. Investigators stated that Vladimir Z., a certified scuba diver, was part of a group that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022. He is suspected of participating in causing explosions, engaging in anti-constitutional sabotage, and destroying buildings and structures.
The German government expressed satisfaction with the arrest, emphasizing the importance of clarifying the pipeline bombings. In a related case, German federal prosecutors had previously pressed charges against another Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., a former army officer, in connection with the same explosions. Serhii K. was detained in Italy in August 2025 and later extradited to Germany, facing charges including causing an explosion, property damage, disruption of public services, and being an accomplice to war crimes through attacks on civilian objects.
Germany intends to seek extradition of the suspect, with Poland having previously blocked a similar extradition request for a man identified as Volodymyr Zhuravlov. Poland’s opposition to the Nord Stream pipelines, seen as a Russian strategy to exert influence in Europe through energy resources, was highlighted during the extradition proceedings. Notably, the United States and Ukraine have denied any involvement in the undersea explosions that damaged the pipelines, leading to heightened tensions amid efforts by European nations to reduce reliance on Russian energy sources in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.