An individual from Ukraine was taken into custody on Wednesday in Croatia in connection with underwater blasts that caused damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany in 2022, as stated by Germany’s federal prosecutor.
The arrested person, identified as Vladimir Z., was apprehended in Pula, Croatia, by local law enforcement executing a European warrant.
According to prosecutors, Vladimir Z., a certified scuba diver, was part of a group that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022.
He is under strong suspicion of collectively causing explosions, engaging in anti-constitutional sabotage, and damaging buildings and structures.
The German government expressed its satisfaction with the arrest on Wednesday.
“We’re pleased that the federal prosecutor’s office is making headway in these investigations because it is crucial to clarify the pipeline bombings,” said Nicholas Limmer, a spokesperson for the justice ministry, during a press briefing in Berlin.
Earlier last month, German federal prosecutors brought charges against a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the same explosions.
The suspect, known only as Serhii K., was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November, facing charges of explosion, property damage, disruption of public services, and complicity in war crimes by targeting civilian assets.
German authorities allege that Serhii K. and accomplices departed from the port of Rostock using a yacht rented from a German company.
Suspect Previously Apprehended in Poland
Germany is initiating the extradition process for the suspect. Poland rejected the extradition request for an individual with the same name and initial last year.
A spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that it was the same person, whom Polish authorities had identified as Volodymyr Zhuravlov.
WATCH | Wall Street Journal’s Bojan Pancevski on the mystery (June 2026):
Poland has been opposed to the Nord Stream pipelines, viewing them as Russia’s strategy to leverage its extensive energy resources across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned during Zhuravlov’s extradition hearing that it was not in Poland’s interest to extradite him.
It remains unclear why Zhuravlov left Poland despite the existing arrest warrant against him.
“Volodymyr was aware that the ruling applied only within Poland,” stated Tymoteusz Paprocki, his Polish attorney, to the AP, noting that Zhuravlov’s wife was also surprised by his detention in Croatia.
U.S. and Ukraine Deny Involvement
The undersea explosions on September 26, 2022, caused damage to the pipelines constructed to transport Russian natural gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
This damage heightened tensions amid the Ukraine conflict as European nations sought to reduce their reliance on Russian energy sources following the full-scale invasion by the Kremlin.
The blasts ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was a key route for Russia’s natural gas supply to Germany until Moscow halted supplies in August 2022. They also impacted Nord Stream 2, which was never operational as Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia’s invasion.