A Ukrainian national and trained diver was arrested on Wednesday morning in Croatia as a second suspect in the Nord Stream pipeline attacks of September 2022, the German public prosecutor's office said.
The man, identified as Vladimir Z in compliance with Germany's privacy laws, was arrested in the city of Pula. He was detained by local police in coordination with the General Police Directorate in Zagreb, German prosecutors said.
The man is "strongly suspected" of jointly causing an explosive to detonate as well as sabotage and destruction of structures, they said.
The man had previously been detained in Poland in September 2025. The Polish judiciary rejected a German extradition request at the time and released the suspect.
The man is alleged to have participated as a trained diver in the diving operations in the Baltic Sea during which the explosive devices were placed on the gas pipelines, according to the public prosecutor's office.
He and his accomplices are said to have used a sailing yacht that set out from Rostock. The yacht is alleged to have been hired from a German company via intermediaries using forged identity documents.
The explosions near the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm in September 2022 severely damaged both Nord Stream pipelines, bringing gas flows to a complete halt. Before the attack, Nord Stream 1 transported Russian natural gas to Germany, while Nord Stream 2 had not yet entered service.
Nobody has been held accountable for the attacks to date. In August last year, the alleged mastermind of the operation, Serhy K, was apprehended on Italy's Adriatic coast while on holiday with his family.
The public prosecutor's office filed charges against him at the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg in July.
The public prosecutor's office accuses Vladimir Z of jointly causing an explosion involving explosives and is seeking to have him extradited to Germany.
Commenting on the arrest during his summer tour while visiting Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that this would certainly not be the last measure of this kind. He added that the perpetrators of the attack would be "held to account."
The arrest of Vladimir Z on the basis of a European arrest warrant suggests that his extradition to Germany will take place relatively swiftly.
The suspect has the opportunity to challenge his extradition before the County Court in Pula. Under Croatian law, the proceedings - including any appeal - must be concluded within 60 days.
Once the judgement becomes final, the handover must take place within 10 days. As this is a European arrest warrant, the government in Zagreb - even if, like the Polish government, it were to sympathize with those involved in the attack - would have little scope to intervene in the proceedings. Nor, however, is it expected that it would seek to do so.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he does not fear any strain on German-Ukrainian relations.
During a visit to Switzerland, he said it was the duty of all investigative authorities to pursue the matter vigorously and also to take the necessary measures.
He referred to the separation of powers in Germany. "I respect what the judiciary is doing there, and if necessary, there will be criminal consequences regardless of the person's status. This applies not only to German nationals, but also to foreigners," he said.
"I can only say that the German judiciary has an absolutely free hand in this matter. And I am also ready and able to explain this in Ukraine at any time," he added.