Second Nord Stream Suspect Arrested in Croatia
Second Nord Stream Suspect Arrested in Croatia
The News
German prosecutors say a Ukrainian man was arrested Wednesday in Croatia over the underwater explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.
Croatian police detained the man — identified only as Vladimir Z. under German privacy rules — in the coastal city of Pula on a European arrest warrant, Germany's federal prosecutor said.
Prosecutors describe him as 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." He is "strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures," they said.
He is the second suspect taken into custody in the case.
Timeline
Undersea explosions damage the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany. Both are rendered inoperable; Nord Stream 2 had never entered service. The blasts come months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Another suspect, also a Ukrainian national, is arrested in Italy, according to Deutsche Welle.
German federal prosecutors file charges against a former Ukrainian army officer identified as Serhii K. over the same explosions. The charges include causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an "accomplice to war crimes" by attacking civilian objects.
Vladimir Z. is arrested in Pula. Prosecutors say they are pursuing his extradition to Germany.
Reactions
Germany's federal prosecutor's office laid out the case in its own words: "The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had Ukrainian Vladimir Z. arrested in Pula (Croatia) by local police forces."
German prosecutors have said the plot was meant to permanently shut down gas deliveries through the pipelines and cut off the revenue Moscow earned from natural gas sales to finance its war.
Germany has said it believes the sabotage was ordered by unspecified Ukrainian state entities, Deutsche Welle reports. Kyiv has denied any involvement.
Russia had repeatedly cut or suspended deliveries through Nord Stream 1 after launching the invasion, blaming Western sanctions and technical problems. European governments accused Moscow of weaponizing energy supplies.
What's Next
Prosecutors say Vladimir Z. is to be brought before the investigating judge at Germany's federal court of justice once Croatia extradites him. No extradition date has been announced.
The separate case against Serhii K., charged last month, proceeds in the German courts.
More
The sabotage remains one of the most consequential unresolved attacks on European infrastructure since the invasion of Ukraine began. Two pipelines built to move Russian gas to Germany were knocked out in a single night, and the damage hardened Europe's push to break its dependence on Russian energy.
The plot is also now the subject of a book by Wall Street Journal reporter Bojan Pancevski, reviewed this week by the Christian Science Monitor, which calls it an account of deep-sea sabotage and geopolitical maneuvering.
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