Ukrainian man arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream pipeline blasts

German federal prosecutors have secured the arrest of a Ukrainian national in the Croatian coastal city of Pula, marking the second suspect formally detained in the investigation into the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions. The suspect, identified as Vladimir Z., is a trained scuba diver alleged to have helped plant explosives on the undersea gas pipelines that connected Russia to Germany.

The arrest, carried out on August 19, 2026, comes roughly a month after German authorities charged another Ukrainian suspect, Serhii K., as part of what prosecutors describe as the same conspiracy.

What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines

On September 26, 2022, a series of underwater explosions tore through the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near Denmark’s Bornholm island. The blasts rendered three of the four pipeline strings inoperable, releasing enormous volumes of natural gas into the Baltic Sea and effectively cutting off a major energy artery between Russia and Western Europe.

Sweden and Denmark launched their own investigations but eventually closed them without bringing charges, leaving Germany as the sole authority pursuing the case.

The investigation’s long arc

Before Vladimir Z.’s detention in Croatia, one Ukrainian suspect was detained in Italy on August 21, 2025. Another was held near Warsaw, Poland, on September 30, 2025. Serhii K. was then charged in July 2026.

Prosecutors allege that Vladimir Z. and Serhii K. were part of a group that carried out the physical act of planting explosives on the pipelines. Vladimir Z.’s background as a scuba diver fits the profile investigators have been pursuing: the operation required individuals capable of working at significant depths in the cold waters of the Baltic.

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