Germany says 2nd suspect in Nord Stream pipeline sabotage arrested in Croatia

The Associated Press

· Posted: Aug 19, 2026 7:13 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A Ukrainian man was arrested Wednesday in Croatia in relation to undersea explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany in 2022, Germany's federal prosecutor said.

Vladimir Z., whose last name was not given in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Pula, Croatia, by local police carrying out a European 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."

Germany will move to extradite the suspect. Poland blocked the extradition of a man with the same name and initial last year.

WATCH | Wall Street Journal's Bojan Pancevski on the mystery (June 2026):

Undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged pipelines that were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

The damage added to tensions over the Ukraine war as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion.

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.

Other charges in Germany

German federal prosecutors early last month filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer. The suspect, identified as Serhii K. and arrested the previous year in Italy, faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an "accomplice to war crimes" by attacking civilian objects.

German authorities have alleged that Serhii K. and others set off from the port of Rostock, using a yacht hired from a German company.

• Tracing the path from Germany to the pipeline

• Charting the pre-war dependence on Russian energy

Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge that 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 European dependence on Russian gas.

The Ukraine government has also denied having a part in the plot.