Ukraine suspect in Nord Stream blast case arrested in Croatia

Berkshire,UPDATED: Aug 19, 2026 18:28 IST

German federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian man wanted in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines has been arrested in Croatia on a European warrant. The suspect is accused of being part of a group that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm.

The blasts on September 26, 2022 damaged pipelines built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The incident added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to reduce their dependence on Russian energy after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

In a statement, German prosecutors said the suspect was a "trained scuba diver" and was "strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures". They said he was arrested in the Croatian seaside city of Pula and would be brought before an investigating judge at Germany's federal court of justice after his extradition.

The prosecutor's office identified him only as Vladimir Z. However, a spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that he is the same man who was arrested in Poland last year but later released after a Polish court refused to extradite him to Germany. Polish authorities had identified him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov.

Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, viewing them as an attempt by Russia to use its energy resources to gain leverage across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had said during Zhuravlov's extradition hearing that it would not be in Poland's interest to hand him over.

It was not immediately clear why Zhuravlov left Poland despite the arrest warrant. "Volodymyr knew that the ruling applies only on the territory of Poland," his Polish lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, told AP, adding that Zhuravlov's wife was also surprised that her husband had been detained in Croatia.

The German government welcomed the arrest. "We're simply glad that the federal prosecutor's office is making progress in these investigations, because it's important that the bombing of the pipelines be clarified as well," justice ministry spokesman Nicholas Limmer told reporters in Berlin.

Last month, German federal prosecutors filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the same explosions. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K, faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an "accomplice to war crimes" by attacking civilian objects.

Serhii K was detained in August 2025 in an Italian village, where officers raided a bungalow where he was staying with his family. Police said he surrendered without resistance. He was extradited to Germany in November.

Investigators allege that the suspects used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock. The yacht had been rented from a German company using forged IDs and intermediaries.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which had been Russia's main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia's invasion. Russia has accused the US of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied, while the pipelines had long faced criticism from the US and some allies who said they increased dependence on Russian gas.

The arrest in Croatia marks the latest development in Germany's investigation into the Nord Stream explosions, with prosecutors linking the suspect to a group accused of planting explosives on the pipelines and pursuing a wider case that already includes charges against a former Ukrainian army officer.

With PTI Inputs

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