Croatia detains Nord Stream suspect wanted by Germany in pipeline blast case

Zagreb,UPDATED: Aug 20, 2026 23:04 IST

A Croatian judge on Thursday ordered the detention of a Ukrainian man wanted in Germany in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines, according to his lawyer. The man was arrested on a European warrant in the northern Croatian town of Pula on Wednesday, and prosecutors sought his detention while extradition proceedings move ahead.

His lawyer, Matija Milos, said they would appeal the detention order, HINA news agency reported. It was not immediately clear how long the extradition process in Croatia could take.

German prosecutors have said the suspect was a "trained scuba diver" and part of a group that "planted explosives" on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. The explosions on September 26, 2022 damaged pipelines built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions linked to the Russia-Ukraine war as European countries moved to reduce reliance on Russian energy after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The German prosecutor's office identified the suspect only as Vladimir Z. A spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that he was the same man arrested in Poland last year and later released after a Polish court refused to extradite him to Germany. Polish authorities identified him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov. Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, seeing them as an attempt by Russia to use its vast energy resources to gain leverage across Europe.

Last month, German federal prosecutors filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the same explosions. Serhii K. was detained in August 2025 in an Italian village, where officers raided a bungalow where he was staying with his family. He was extradited to Germany in November. Investigators have alleged that the suspects used a yacht that left the German port of Rostock, rented from a German company through forged IDs and intermediaries.

The explosions ruptured Nord Stream 1, which had been Russia's main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification shortly before Russia's full-scale invasion. While some Western officials initially suspected Russia might have carried out the explosions, German investigators later pointed to suspected Ukrainian involvement. Russia has accused the US of staging the blasts, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines had also faced criticism from the US and some allies, who said they increased dependence on Russian gas.

The case now moves into extradition proceedings in Croatia after the suspect's detention, adding another development to the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions that damaged the pipelines and deepened tensions over energy and the war in Ukraine.

With PTI Inputs

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