Ukrainian man arrested over 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions

Gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the OPAL (Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung - Baltic Sea Pipeline Link) long-distance gas pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, on June 21, 2022. (Stefan Sauer / dpa via AP)

BERLIN — A Ukrainian man was arrested Wednesday in Croatia in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, Germany’s federal prosecutor said.

Ukrainian national Vladimir Z., whose last name was not given in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Pula, Croatia, by local police acting on a European arrest warrant.

“Vladimir Z. is a trained scuba diver who was part of a group of individuals who planted explosives on the `Nord Stream 1′ and `Nord Stream 2′ gas pipelines near the (Danish) island of Bornholm in September 2022,” prosecutors said.

He was “strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures,” they added.

Undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged the pipelines, which had been built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Prosecutors have said the plot was intended to permanently disrupt gas deliveries via the pipelines and prevent Russia from using natural gas revenues to finance its military operations.

The statement said the suspect would be brought before the investigating judge at Germany’s federal court of justice after being extradited from Croatia.

Last month, German federal prosecutors filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer also in connection with the same explosions.

The suspect, identified only as Serhii K., faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an “accomplice to war crimes” by attacking civilian objects.

Serhii K. was detained in August 2025 in an Italian village, where officers raided a bungalow where he was staying with his family. Police said he surrendered without resistance. He was extradited to Germany in November.

Serhii K., Vladimir Z., and others allegedly used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock. The yacht had been rented from a German company using forged IDs and intermediaries.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia’s main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia’s invasion.

Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies, which warned that they increased dependence on Russian gas.

The Associated Press