Ukrainian diver arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream pipeline bombings

A Ukrainian man has been arrested in Croatia as part of an investigation into the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Germany and Russia.Undersea explosions in September 2022, just months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, damaged three of the four pipelines built to carry Russian fossil gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.The man, a trained scuba diver who prosecutors allege was directly involved in the explosions, was arrested in the Croatian seaside town of Pula on Wednesday. Berlin will seek his extradition to face trial at the federal court in Karlsruhe, in Germany.The German prosecutor’s office said the suspect “belonged to a group of people, including the separately prosecuted Serhiy K, who planted explosives near the island of Bornholm in September 2022 on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.The landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters“The accused participated in the necessary dives,” it added.Prosecutors identified the suspect only as Vladimir Z, but he is understood to be the same man arrested by Poland last year – and released after a Polish court ruled against executing a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. He was identified in that court as Volodymyr Zhuravlev.In a landmark ruling that caused friction in Polish-German relations, the Polish court argued that Germany had no jurisdiction in the case, and that the destruction of Nord Stream could be seen as a justified action by Ukraine as part of a defensive war.The man arrested in Croatia is understood to be Volodymyr Zhuravlev (centre), who appeared in a Polish court and was later released. Photograph: Rafał Guz/EPAThe ruling aligned with Poland’s longstanding opposition to the pipeline project, seen as a symbol of Berlin’s close relations with Russia, with the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, publicly saying that “the problem with Nord Stream 2 is not that it was blown up; the problem is that it was built”.Polish and German media reported that the suspect had evaded arrest in Poland in 2024, fleeing back to Ukraine. Polish authorities blamed Germany for administrative errors when logging him into the international wanted database, which allowed him to cross the border despite an active arrest warrant.The German magazine Der Spiegel alleged the suspect was helped to escape by a Ukrainian military attache stationed in Warsaw.The man’s second arrest – this time in Croatia – highlights Berlin’s determination to bring him in front of German courts, despite awkwardness given Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Germany’s longstanding help for Kyiv.The other suspect, Serhiy K, was arrested in Italy last August and extradited to Germany in November, after unsuccessful appeals in Italian courts.