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Second Ukrainian Suspect Arrested in Nord Stream Sabotage Investigation

20 August 2026

German authorities have announced on Thursday (August 19) the arrest of a second Ukrainian national in connection with the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Vladimir Z., was detained in the Croatian city of Pula on Wednesday under a European arrest warrant.

Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said the man was a trained scuba diver and allegedly belonged to a group that placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. Prosecutors said he participated in the dives required for the operation and is suspected of causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage and damage to infrastructure.

The arrest marks the latest development in Germany’s investigation into the blasts of 26 September 2022, which damaged three of the four pipelines. The Nord Stream system had been built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream 1 had been Russia’s main gas supply route to Germany before Moscow halted deliveries in August 2022, while Nord Stream 2 had never entered service after Germany suspended its certification shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

 According to German prosecutors, the alleged objective of the attack was to permanently disrupt gas supplies and prevent Russia from using energy revenues to support its war in Ukraine. German authorities have also argued that the case falls within their jurisdiction because the pipelines terminate in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and their destruction affected Germany’s energy security and internal safety.

Vladimir Z. had previously been arrested in Poland in 2025, but Polish authorities declined to extradite him to Germany, and he was released. His lawyer said that the earlier ruling applied only within Poland. Croatian authorities will now determine whether he will be extradited to Germany, where he is expected to appear before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice.

The suspect is alleged to have been part of a group associated with Serhii K., a former Ukrainian army officer who German prosecutors charged in connection with the same attack. Investigators allege that the group travelled from the German port of Rostock on a rented sailing yacht before carrying out the operation.

Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany in November. He has denied involvement, while Ukrainian authorities have said they lacked sufficient information to respond in detail to the German allegations.

Source: commonspace.eu with CTV News (Toronto) and Sky News (London).

 

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