In brief
Lawyers in Croatia have detained a Ukrainian diver suspected of participating in the undersea bombings of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in September 2022. According to German prosecutors, the suspect helped plant explosives during a covert dive. The arrest follows the release of Volodymyr Zhuravlyov in Poland, who was cleared after a court rejected German extradition. Meanwhile, former Ukrainian officer Serhiy Kuznetsov, extradited from Italy, remains charged in Germany. The case has intensified tensions between Kyiv and Berlin amid broader accusations of hybrid warfare.
Police in Croatia have detained a Ukrainian national suspected of helping bomb the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that ran from Russia to Germany in September 2022.
German prosecutors say the suspect was one of a team of scuba divers who planted explosives on the pipeline while it was in service. The arrest comes after an earlier suspect, Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, was freed in Poland when a judge rejected the German extradition request.
Other Ukrainian officials are involved. Former Ukrainian military officer Serhiy Kuznetsov was arrested in Italy in 2025 and extradited to Germany, where he faces trial. He has denied any role in the sabotage.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline was operating at the time of the attacks, but the Nord Stream 2 line had yet to be commissioned. German authorities argue that the destruction of Nord Stream 1 places them under jurisdiction because the pipelines terminate in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The incident has strained relations between Kyiv and Berlin, with Kyiv repeatedly denying involvement while German officials point to Ukraine as a possible actor in the attacks.
