On August 9, a Ukrainian citizen was detained in the Croatian city of Pula as part of the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The suspect is a trained diver and may have taken part in dives to place explosives on the pipelines.
This was reported by the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
The detention was carried out on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by an investigating judge of Germany’s Federal Court of Justice on June 3, 2024. In the prosecutor’s statement, the detainee is referred to as Vladimir Zh.
According to investigators, he was part of a group involving Serhii K., whose case is being investigated separately. In September 2022, the group, prosecutors allege, placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the island of Bornholm.
According to prosecutors, Vladimir Z. took part in the dives required for this. The group used a sailing yacht that departed from Rostock for transportation.
The yacht was rented from a German company through intermediaries using forged documents. The explosive devices detonated on September 26, 2022, causing serious damage to both pipelines.
The detainee is suspected of jointly causing an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of structures. After being transferred from Croatia, he is expected to be brought before an investigating judge of Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.
According to media reports, the man is Vladimir Zhuravlev, who had previously been detained in Poland. However, a Polish court refused to hand him over to Germany and lifted his temporary detention.
Another suspect in the case, Ukrainian national Serhii Kuznetsov, is in custody in Germany. He was detained while on holiday in Italy.
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office separately said that on June 30, 2026, it had already submitted an indictment against Serhii K. to the court.
