Croatian Court Approves Extradition of Ukrainian Suspect in Nord Stream Bombing Case

A Croatian court has approved the extradition of a Ukrainian man wanted by Germany in connection with the 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

The suspect, identified by German prosecutors as Vladimir Z., was arrested in the Croatian town of Pula in August under a European arrest warrant. He was reportedly working on a Hollywood film project about the Nord Stream attacks at the time of his arrest.

His lawyer, Ljubo Pavasovic Viskovic, said the court approved the extradition on September 18. However, the ruling is not yet final and will be appealed, leaving uncertainty over when, or whether, the suspect will eventually be transferred to Germany.

German prosecutors allege that Vladimir Z., a former Ukrainian army officer and trained scuba diver, was part of a team that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near Denmark's Bornholm island.

The explosions on September 26, 2022, destroyed three of the four pipelines, which had been built to transport Russian natural gas to Germany.

German authorities have also accused Vladimir Z. of working with another Ukrainian national, identified as Serhii K., who was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and later extradited to Germany. Serhii K. is scheduled to stand trial before the Hamburg Higher Regional Court on October 14, with proceedings potentially continuing into February 2027.

German investigators believe a Ukrainian state agency ordered the attack in an effort to cut Russian energy revenues used to finance its war in Ukraine. The allegations have created political sensitivity between Germany and Ukraine, as Berlin remains a major supporter of Kyiv.

German government officials have maintained that the case is a matter for the independent judiciary, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied that his government knew about any plan to destroy the pipelines.

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