Ukrainian national arrested in Croatia, suspected of involvement in Nord Stream pipeline explosions

Croatian authorities have arrested a Ukrainian national suspected of involvement in the explosives attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, carried out in September 2022.

According to German prosecutors, the detainee was part of a team of divers who planted explosives on the pipelines several months after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Germany has begun proceedings to extradite him from Croatia. He is the second person detained as part of the investigation, a case that has strained relations between Kyiv and Berlin, which remains one of Ukraine’s main supporters in the war.

Prosecutors have identified the suspect as a trained diver named Vladimir. The BBC reports that he is Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was arrested in Poland in 2025 in connection with the same case.

At the time, a Polish judge rejected Germany’s request for his extradition. The decision was justified on the grounds that, if the attack had been carried out by Ukraine, it would be considered a “just act.” Zhuravlyov was later released, causing astonishment among those present in the courtroom, while he reacted with a smile.

The other suspect is former Ukrainian serviceman Sergei Kuznetsov. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and later handed over to German authorities, where he is expected to stand trial. Kuznetsov has denied any responsibility for the explosions and appeared before the Hamburg court in June.

According to the indictment, Kuznetsov led a group that used a yacht rented in Rostock, Germany, to place the explosives near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

When the attack took place, only Nord Stream 1 was operational. Nord Stream 2 had not yet begun operating, although its construction was almost complete.

Ukraine has repeatedly denied any involvement in the case.