Nord Stream Sabotage: Ukrainian National Detained in Croatia After Poland Refused to Extradite Him to Germany

Croatian authorities detained Ukrainian national Volodymyr Z. on August 19. German authorities suspect him of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Tagesschau reported this.

The suspect was detained in Pula on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by a German court in June 2024.

According to the German Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice, Volodymyr Z. is a professional diver and was allegedly part of a group led by another suspect, Serhii K.

Investigators believe that in September 2022, he took part in dives near the island of Bornholm during which explosives were placed on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

The group used a sailing yacht for the operation, departing from Rostock. According to investigators, the vessel was rented through intermediaries from a German company using forged documents. The explosives were detonated on Sept. 26, 2022, damaging three of the four pipeline strings.

Volodymyr Z. is accused of causing an explosion jointly, unconstitutional sabotage and destruction of structures. If extradited from Croatia, he is to be brought before an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany.

This is the second case in which a Ukrainian national has been detained as part of the Nord Stream investigation. Earlier, another Ukrainian citizen was detained in Italy and extradited to Germany. German prosecutors consider him the alleged coordinator of the group. On June 30, 2026, German prosecutors filed charges against him with the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg.

Volodymyr Z. was already known to German law enforcement. In 2025, he was detained in Poland at Germany’s request, but the Warsaw District Court refused to extradite him and ordered his release. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk supported the decision at the time.

Map of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines

German media previously reported that investigators had identified seven members of the sabotage team: four divers, an explosives expert, a skipper and a coordinator. According to media reports, all of them are Ukrainian nationals. German prosecutors issued six arrest warrants, while the seventh suspect is believed to have been a Ukrainian serviceman who, according to media reports, was killed at the front.

Investigations by Germany, Sweden and Denmark confirmed that the explosions targeting the Nord Stream pipelines were deliberate. However, no final conclusions have been reached regarding who ordered the sabotage, and Ukraine denies involvement in the attack.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has said it found no evidence of state involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.