German authorities announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man in Croatia on Wednesday in connection with the underwater explosions that targeted the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany in 2022. The individual, identified as Vladimir Z., was apprehended in Pula by local police executing a European warrant. Prosecutors stated that Vladimir Z., a skilled 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 involvement in causing the explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of infrastructure.
The German government expressed satisfaction with the arrest, emphasizing the importance of clarifying the pipeline bombings. In a separate incident, German federal prosecutors recently pressed charges against another Ukrainian individual, Serhii K., for his alleged role in the same explosions. Serhii K., a former Ukrainian army officer, was detained in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November, facing charges related to explosion, property damage, disrupting public services, and complicity in war crimes.
It was reported that Serhii K. and accomplices departed from the port of Rostock using a yacht rented from a German company. Germany intends to seek the extradition of Serhii K., despite Poland’s previous refusal to extradite a person with a similar name. Poland had identified the individual as Volodymyr Zhuravlov, who was the subject of an arrest warrant.
Polish opposition to the Nord Stream pipelines, which are viewed as a Russian strategy to exert influence across Europe, has been longstanding. The damage caused by the explosions exacerbated tensions amid European efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. The explosions affected both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, with the former losing its status as Russia’s primary gas supply route to Germany. The U.S. has denied accusations by Russia that it orchestrated the explosions, with Ukraine also disavowing any involvement in the sabotage.
