A second Ukrainian national has been arrested in Croatia in connection with the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Germany's Office of the Federal Prosecutor announced on Wednesday, 19 August. The suspect, identified only as Volodymyr Z, was detained in the Croatian coastal city of Pula under a European arrest warrant, marking a significant development in one of the most consequential acts of infrastructure sabotage in recent European history.

Who Is Volodymyr Z

According to German prosecutors, Volodymyr Z is a trained diver who allegedly formed part of a covert team that used a rented sailing yacht to transport and plant high-performance explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. The team reportedly carried the explosives to international waters near the Danish island of Bornholm, where the devices were placed on the seabed before being detonated.

On 26 September 2022, several explosive devices were triggered simultaneously, rupturing the pipelines and causing massive gas leaks that drew international condemnation and sparked a years-long investigation across multiple European jurisdictions.

The First Arrest: Serhii Kuznietsov

The first Ukrainian suspect in the case, Serhii Kuznietsov, was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and transferred to Germany the following November. He was formally indicted by German prosecutors in June. Prosecutors allege that Kuznietsov was an officer in the Ukrainian army in 2022 and, following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in late February 2022, developed the pipeline destruction plan on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities.

According to the prosecutors, Kuznietsov led the operation and oversaw a group comprising several professional divers, a skipper, and an explosives expert. He faces charges of committing a war crime by attacking civilian objects, causing an explosive blast, destroying infrastructure, and disrupting public utilities.

State Authority Alleged

German prosecutors have stated that Kuznietsov acted on behalf of Ukrainian state authorities — an allegation that, if proven, would carry profound diplomatic and legal consequences. Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged involvement in the Nord Stream attack. The claim of state-directed sabotage has been disputed by Kyiv, and the broader question of ultimate responsibility for the blasts has remained deeply contested, with various governments and investigators pointing to different actors over the past three years.

Notably, this is the first time a second individual has been formally detained in the case, suggesting the German investigation is advancing toward a fuller picture of the alleged network behind the attack.

What Happens Next

With Volodymyr Z now in Croatian custody under a European arrest warrant, the next step will be extradition proceedings to bring him before German courts. The case is expected to draw intense diplomatic scrutiny given the alleged involvement of a state actor and the geopolitical sensitivities surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war. European governments, many of which depend on pipeline infrastructure for energy security, are watching the proceedings closely.