Ukrainian man arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream pipeline blasts

A Ukrainian man has been arrested in Croatia on suspicion of taking part in the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.

The suspect is alleged by German authorities to have been one of the scuba divers who planted explosives on the pipelines in September 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He is the second man to be arrested over the plot, which has strained relations between Kyiv and Berlin - one of the key European backers for Ukraine's war effort.

"The suspect participated in the necessary dives" for the sabotage, German prosecutors alleged, adding they were pursuing the suspect's extradition from Croatia.

Prosecutors identified the man only as trained scuba diver Vladimir Z, however he is understood to be Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was arrested in Poland in 2025 over the undersea plot.

In that case, a Polish judge refused a German extradition request, arguing that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a "just" act.

Zhuravlyov was then released, prompting a ripple of surprise from the crowd in court and a smile from the man in the dock.

The other suspect in the case is former Ukrainian military officer Serhiy Kuznetsov. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and later extradited to Germany where he is set to face trial. He has denied responsibility for the explosions and appeared before a court in Hamburg in June.