Second Ukrainian suspect arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream blasts
German prosecutors say a second Ukrainian suspect linked to the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions has been arrested in Croatia and will be extradited to Germany. The man, identified by prosecutors as Vladimir Z, was detained in the Croatian coastal city of Pula on Wednesday under a European arrest warrant. Authorities say he is a trained scuba diver and was part of the group that planted explosives near the Danish island of Bornholm.
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The arrest adds a new stage to an investigation that has already produced one prosecution in Germany. Prosecutors previously charged former Ukrainian army officer Serhii K, who was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and later transferred to Germany. In the latest case, German officials said the suspect took part in the dives needed to place the explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.
The German justice ministry welcomed the arrest and said it was important that the bombing of the pipelines be clarified. The Nord Stream explosions in September 2022 damaged three of the four pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The blasts came months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and quickly became one of the most closely watched sabotage cases in Europe.
German prosecutors have said the alleged aim was to permanently stop gas deliveries through the pipelines and prevent Russia from using energy revenues to finance its war effort. The case matters because it sits at the intersection of security, energy and law. Nord Stream 1 had been a major route for Russian gas exports to Europe, while Nord Stream 2 had not entered service.
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The pipelines were politically controversial long before the explosions, with critics in Poland and elsewhere arguing that they increased Europe's dependence on Moscow and gave Russia leverage over the continent's energy supply. The latest arrest also underlines the cross-border nature of the investigation. German prosecutors say the suspect was detained by Croatian police acting on a European arrest warrant, and Berlin is now seeking his extradition so he can face proceedings in Germany.
The case has already exposed tensions between legal jurisdictions, after a Polish court previously declined to execute a German warrant in a separate stage of the inquiry. The suspect's reported identity has also been the subject of earlier reporting, with German prosecutors naming him only as Vladimir Z. He is understood to be the same man previously linked to the case in Poland, where he was reportedly released after a court ruled against extradition.
That earlier decision added to friction between Polish and German authorities and highlighted the sensitivity of the investigation across Europe. For Germany, the arrest is a sign that the inquiry remains active more than three years after the explosions. For Ukraine, the case continues to carry diplomatic risk because German prosecutors have alleged that the suspects acted on behalf of Ukrainian state entities, a claim Kyiv has not fully addressed in detail.
The legal process now turns to whether Croatia will approve extradition and how quickly the suspect could be transferred to Germany. What remains unclear is whether the Croatian arrest will lead to further detentions or new evidence about who organised the operation. It is also not yet known how the suspect will respond to the allegations once he is brought before German authorities.
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The case is likely to remain under close scrutiny because it combines allegations of sabotage, disputed responsibility and the security of critical European infrastructure.
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