Second suspect arrested over Nord Stream pipeline blasts, a Ukrainian national detained in Croatia

A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions of September 2022, German federal prosecutors announced on Wednesday. Croatian police, acting on a European arrest warrant, detained a Ukrainian national identified only as Vladimir Z. in the coastal city of Pula.

Prosecutors said the man, a trained scuba diver, "is strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions" and confirmed they were pursuing his extradition from Croatia to Germany.

The arrest comes after the suspect had previously been detained in Poland in September 2025 but was released after Germany's extradition request was turned down. Another Ukrainian national was arrested in Italy last year as the first suspect in the case.

The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were built to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany and other European countries. Both pipelines were rendered inoperable by underwater blasts in September 2022, just months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Germany has said it believes the sabotage was ordered by unspecified Ukrainian state entities, though Kyiv has consistently denied any involvement. Prosecutors said the plot aimed to permanently disrupt gas deliveries through the pipelines and prevent Moscow from using revenues from natural gas sales to fund its military operations.

Moscow had repeatedly reduced or suspended deliveries through Nord Stream 1 before the blasts, citing Western sanctions and technical issues. Europe had in turn accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies.