A Ukrainian diving specialist sought by Germany over the 2022 Nord Stream explosions has been detained in Croatia and faces possible extradition, with reports saying he was working as an adviser on a Hollywood film about the pipeline attack when authorities arrested him.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A second Ukrainian suspect accused by German prosecutors of participating in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has been arrested in Croatia, adding another major development to Germany’s investigation of the explosions that severed a critical energy connection between Russia and Europe.
German federal prosecutors identified the suspect as Vladimir Z., while other reports have identified him as Volodymyr Zhuravlyov. Croatian police detained him Wednesday in the coastal city of Pula under a European arrest warrant, according to Reuters.
German authorities allege that Zhuravlyov was a trained scuba diver and a member of the team that placed explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
The group was allegedly led by former Ukrainian military officer Serhii K., who became the first suspect charged by German prosecutors in connection with the sabotage.
Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and transferred to Germany in November. Prosecutors charged him in July with orchestrating the explosions while allegedly acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.
He has denied taking part in the Nord Stream attack.
Authorities in Kyiv have said they lack sufficient information to respond in detail to Germany’s allegations.
Zhuravlyov’s arrest occurred at a tourist facility in Pula on Wednesday morning, according to the Istarska County Police Administration.
Croatian police initially stopped short of publicly verifying that the person detained was the individual sought by German authorities.
“We are not able to confirm the identity of the arrested person at this moment,” police said in a statement while officers checked whether the detainee matched the person wanted by the federal court in Karlsruhe.
The Croatian Justice Ministry separately said it had not received official notification of the arrest. It noted that European Union judicial authorities communicate directly with one another in extradition cases and said the court in Pula would be responsible for deciding the matter.
Zhuravlyov’s attorney in Poland, however, told the Polish state news agency PAP that his former client was the person detained.
“I can confirm that today my client in a trial in Poland was detained in Croatia. I don’t know the reasons he went there, but I assume they must have been significant and important,” attorney Tymoteusz Paprocki said.
The arrest is particularly significant because Zhuravlyov had previously faced extradition proceedings in Poland.
A Polish court last year refused to send him to Germany. After he was released, he subsequently disappeared from public view.
The latest developments surrounding his detention were also circulated in an X post.
The case has also created a political dispute between Germany and Poland over whether those accused of sabotaging the pipelines should face prosecution.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has publicly argued that Germany should not pursue criminal cases against people accused of disabling Nord Stream.
Tusk reaffirmed that position Thursday, according to TVP World.
“Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Germany should not prosecute suspects accused of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, adding those who built the Russian gas links ‘should be ashamed, not those who disabled them’.”
Asked whether he continued to believe a suspect should not face criminal liability, Tusk said his position had not changed.
“But Germany should certainly not prosecute those who, in a situation where their country has been attacked, take one action or another. I will not change my mind here, and I believe that those who built this pipeline should be ashamed, not those who disabled it,” Tusk said.
His remarks were also highlighted in a separate X post.
Germany maintains that its courts have jurisdiction over the sabotage because the Nord Stream pipelines terminate in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and because their destruction directly affected German energy security and domestic safety.
The explosions occurred near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, about seven months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Both Russia and Western governments described the destruction as deliberate sabotage.
Nord Stream 1 had been one of the principal pipelines carrying Russian natural gas to Europe. Nord Stream 2 had been completed but had not begun commercial operation when the explosions occurred.
Moscow had already stopped deliveries through Nord Stream 1 shortly before the sabotage, attributing the shutdown to technical problems and Western sanctions. European governments accused Russia of deliberately restricting energy supplies as leverage against countries supporting Ukraine.
German prosecutors allege that the sabotage team sought to permanently prevent gas deliveries through Nord Stream, thereby limiting Russia’s ability to generate natural gas revenue that could be used to finance the war in Ukraine.
The circumstances surrounding Zhuravlyov’s latest arrest have added an unusual element to the case.
Germany’s Legal Tribune Online reported that he was detained while working on “Snake Island,” a Hollywood movie centered on the Nord Stream attack and directed by Doug Liman, whose credits include “The Bourne Identity.”
The production reportedly stars Adrien Brody and three-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn.
According to an AFP report, Zhuravlyov was working as an adviser to the production when Croatian authorities detained him.
“Germany’s Legal Tribune Online reported he was arrested while working on the set for the movie ‘Snake Island’ by US director Doug Liman (‘Bourne Identity’), with Brody and three-time Oscar winner Penn.
“Zhuravlyov worked as an advisor for the film, according to media reports AFP was unable to immediately verify with German or Croatian authorities.”
The reported movie connection has therefore not been independently confirmed by German or Croatian officials.
German prosecutors are now seeking Zhuravlyov’s extradition from Croatia as their criminal case over the Nord Stream destruction expands beyond Serhii K.
Whether the transfer proceeds will be decided through the Croatian judicial process, with the Pula court expected to handle Germany’s European arrest warrant.
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