Croatian court orders detention of Ukrainian man sought in Nord Stream pipeline blasts

His lawyer, Matija Milos, stated that they would appeal the detention order. The duration of the extradition proceedings in Croatia remains unclear.

German prosecutors have identified the suspect as Vladimir Z. and described him as a "trained scuba diver" who allegedly belonged to a group responsible for planting explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. The explosions occurred on September 26, 2022.

This individual is reportedly the same man arrested in Poland last year but later released when a Polish court refused his extradition to Germany. Polish authorities had identified him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov.

Last month, German federal prosecutors charged a former Ukrainian army officer, identified as Serhii K., in connection with the same explosions. He was detained in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November. Suspects allegedly used a yacht rented from a German company with forged identification.

The Nord Stream pipelines were built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany. The damage to Nord Stream 1, Russia's primary gas supply route to Germany until supplies were cut in August 2022, and Nord Stream 2, which never entered service, occurred amid heightened tensions related to the Russia-Ukraine war.