Croatia detains Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlev, one of the suspects in Nord Stream pipeline bombing

Source: ARD

Croatian investigators have detained a second suspect in the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system, the German public broadcaster ARD reported.

Investigators believe the detainee was one of the divers who attached explosives to the pipeline’s strands in the Baltic Sea.

The agency reported that he is a man German prosecutors tracked down in Poland last year, before asking Polish authorities for his extradition. The German magazine Spiegel identified him as Volodymyr Zh., and German prosecutors confirmed the report.

He appears to be Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravlev, whom Poland refused to extradite to Germany in October 2025.

Investigators have now tracked Zhuravlev down in Croatia, and Germany plans to seek his extradition.

Volodymyr Zhuravlev, 49, a diving instructor, has been placed on Germany’s wanted list. German authorities believe he directly took part in the September 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline.

German law enforcement reported that Zhuravlev and other participants in the sabotage set out from the city of Rostock on a yacht, then dove underwater to plant explosives on the pipeline. Zhuravlev has denied any involvement, saying he was in Ukraine at the time of the bombings.

Another suspect, Ukrainian citizen and retired army captain Serhiy Kuznetsov, was detained in Italy a year ago. A local court authorized his extradition to Germany in November 2025.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

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Croatia detains Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlev, one of the suspects in Nord Stream pipeline bombing

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Croatia detains Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlev, one of the suspects in Nord Stream pipeline bombing

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