Croatia arrests Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev over Nord Stream bombing allegations
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Croatian authorities arrested Ukrainian scuba diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev on Wednesday in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombings. German prosecutors allege Zhuravlev was involved in the sabotage, and he was detained on a European arrest warrant while working as a consultant on a Hollywood film set. His lawyers will now seek to prevent his extradition to Germany.
Key Facts
- Croatian authorities arrested Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev on Wednesday in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombings.
- German federal prosecutors say local police detained Zhuravlev on a European arrest warrant.
- Zhuravlev was working as a consultant on the set of the Hollywood film 'Snake Island', a dramatic reconstruction of the bombings he is alleged to have been involved in.
- In 2024, Zhuravlev evaded arrest in Poland and fled back to Ukraine after a Polish court refused to enforce the German European arrest warrant.
- The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, owned by Russia's Gazprom, cost about $11bn and was designed to double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 route.
The Arrest
Croatian authorities arrested Ukrainian scuba diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev on Wednesday in connection with the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. German federal prosecutors said local police forces detained him on a European arrest warrant. Zhuravlev was taken into custody while working as a consultant on the set of the Hollywood film 'Snake Island', a dramatic reconstruction of the bombings he is alleged to have been involved in. His Polish defence lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, said that if a Croatian court hears the case, it would amount to a ruling on something already decided in Poland, another EU member state.
Suspect Profile
Zhuravlev is a Ukrainian citizen, professional scuba diver, and diving instructor, with some reports indicating he is affiliated with a diving school in Kyiv. He is sometimes referred to in German prosecution filings as Vladimir Z, identified under German privacy rules only by his first name and initial. Zhuravlev denies any role in the sabotage. In 2024, he evaded arrest in Poland and fled back to Ukraine after a Polish court refused to enforce the European arrest warrant issued by Germany. The Polish court ruled that German authorities had no jurisdiction and that the Nord Stream destruction could be viewed as a justified act by Ukraine in a defensive war.
Nord Stream Pipelines
On September 26, 2022, explosions occurred along two Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Germany, damaging Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, which was yet to enter service. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, costing about $11bn and owned by Russia's state-backed energy giant Gazprom, ran under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, doubling the capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 route. Berlin has long insisted Nord Stream 2 was a purely commercial project, but it carries geopolitical implications. By bypassing Ukraine, it threatened to cut off billions of dollars in annual transit fees that Kyiv earned from Russian gas flows across its territory.
1 source
Croatia arrests Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev over Nord Stream bombing allegations
