Ukrainian Diver Held in Croatia Over Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts

A Ukrainian scuba diver has been detained in Croatia for suspected help in the 2022 attacks that ruptured most of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany.

German prosecutors have said the suspect, identified as Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, dived into the sea near the Danish island of Bornholm and planted explosives on the pipelines. He also allegedly worked with former Ukrainian officer Serhiy Kuznetsov, who was extradited from Italy to Germany to face charges.

The arrests are part of a wider hunt for those responsible, a hunt that has strained relations between Kyiv and Berlin. Ukraine’s government has repeatedly denied any role in the explosions.

This is the second arrest in the lead‑up to the trial, after Polish authorities previously released Zhuravlyov when a Ukrainian court claimed the blast was a “just” act.

The case is now being handled by German courts, which see the sabotaged pipeline sections as falling under their jurisdiction because the lines end in the German state of Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern.