Germany says 2nd suspect in Nord Stream pipeline sabotage arrested in Croatia

A Ukrainian man was arrested Wednesday in Croatia in relation to undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in 2022, Germany's federal prosecutor said.

Vladimir Z., whose last name was not given in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Pula, Croatia, by local police carrying out a European warrant.

"Vladimir Z. is a trained scuba diver who was part of a group of individuals who planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the [Danish] island of Bornholm in September 2022," prosecutors said.

He was "strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of buildings and structures."

The German government welcomed the arrest on Wednesday.

"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 spokesperson Nicholas Limmer told reporters in Berlin.

German federal prosecutors early last month filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the same explosions.

The suspect, identified only as Serhii K., was detained in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November. He faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an "accomplice to war crimes" by attacking civilian objects.

German authorities have alleged that Serhii K. and others set off from the port of Rostock, using a yacht hired from a German company.

Suspect previously arrested in Poland

Germany will move to extradite the suspect. Poland blocked the extradition of a man with the same name and initial last year.

A spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that it was the same man, who Polish authorities had identified as Volodymyr Zhuravlov.

WATCH | Wall Street Journal's Bojan Pancevski on the mystery (June 2026):

Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, viewing them as an attempt by Russia to use its vast energy resources to gain leverage across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time of 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 given the arrest warrant that was out for him.

"Volodymyr knew that the ruling applies only on the territory of Poland," his Polish lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, told the AP, adding that Zhuravlov's wife was also surprised that her husband was detained in Croatia.

U.S., Ukraine have denied involvement

Undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

The damage added to tensions over the Ukraine war as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was 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 process shortly before Russia’s invasion.

• Tracing the path from Germany to the pipeline

• Charting the pre-war dependence on Russian energy

Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge that Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies, which warned that they increased European dependence on Russian gas.

The Ukraine government has also denied having a part in the plot.