German prosecutors have secured the arrest of a second suspect in the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombings, with Croatian police detaining a Ukrainian citizen in Pula on a European warrant. The suspect, identified as Vladimir Z., is believed to be one of the divers who planted explosives at roughly 80 metres depth in the Baltic Sea from a sailing vessel. Berlin will now seek his extradition.
The attack destroyed three of four tubes of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which had carried Russian gas toward Germany. Investigators found traces of military-grade hexogen and oktogen explosives on the yacht Andromeda. German authorities believe the sabotage was likely a state-directed secret service operation, with reports pointing to Ukrainian intelligence involvement.
The suspected ringleader, a Ukrainian arrested earlier in Italy, faces trial in Hamburg in the coming weeks. That man had previously been located in Poland, but Warsaw refused to extradite him, straining diplomatic ties. Seven suspects have been identified; one has since died in combat.