Croatian police arrest suspect in Nord Stream pipeline sabotage

Croatian police have arrested another suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines. The Ukrainian national, identified as Vladímir Z., was detained in Pula and is expected to be transferred to Germany.

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has ordered this Wednesday the arrest of the Ukrainian Vladímir Z., in Pula, by virtue of a European arrest warrant issued by the investigating judge of the Federal Supreme Court on June 3, 2024.

German federal prosecutors announced the arrest, stating that Z. is suspected of being one of the divers who placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022. The explosions caused significant damage to three of the four pipeline lines.

Prosecutors have ordered Z.'s arrest based on a European arrest warrant issued in June 2024. He faces charges including sabotage, destruction of property, and acting contrary to the constitution. The investigation suggests Z. was part of a group led by Serguí K., a former Ukrainian military officer already under investigation in Germany.

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is suspected of having caused, together with other involved parties, an explosion with explosive material, sabotage contrary to the Constitution, and destruction of structures.

The group allegedly used a sailboat chartered from a German company in Rostock, with intermediaries using falsified identity documents for the rental. The explosive devices detonated on September 26, 2022, severely damaging the pipelines. German authorities are still determining if the arrested suspect is the same individual previously detained in Poland but released by a Warsaw court.

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is attributed to Vladímir Z. the fact of having been one of the divers who placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in September 2022.