BERLIN (AP) 鈥� A Ukrainian man was arrested Wednesday in Croatia in connection with the 2022 undersea explosions that between Russia and Germany, Germany鈥檚 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.
鈥淰ladimir Z. is a trained scuba diver who was part of a group of individuals who planted explosives on the 鈥楴ord Stream 1鈥� and 鈥楴ord Stream 2鈥� gas pipelines near the (Danish) island of Bornholm in September 2022,鈥� prosecutors said.
He was 鈥渟trongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures,鈥� 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 as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources after the Kremlin鈥檚 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鈥檚 federal court of justice after being extradited from Croatia.
Last month, German federal prosecutors 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 鈥渁ccomplice to war crimes鈥� by attacking civilian objects.
Serhii K. was 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
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鈥檚 main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany shortly before Russia鈥檚 invasion.
Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long and some of its allies, which warned that they increased dependence on Russian gas.
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