Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Berlin links Zhuravlyov to the explosions in the Baltic 2022 year.
The district court of the Croatian city of Pula approved the extradition to Germany of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who is suspected there of taking part in the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 pipelines. The decision was made on 18 September, and the parties received it in writing five days later. The Ukrainian’s defense plans to appeal, reports the Croatian outlet Index.hr.
The decision was issued by a panel of judges chaired by Edvina Sujević. Once it becomes final, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior will hand Zhuravlyov over to the German authorities. Ukrainian lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk, who is defending the suspect, called the verdict biased and politically motivated and announced an appeal.
In Germany, the defendants in the case are accused of anti-constitutional sabotage, intentional causing of an explosion, and destruction of structures. Their actions are also qualified as a war crime, since civilian objects were damaged and the functioning of public utilities was disrupted.
Zhuravlyov became the second suspect to be detained. The first, Serhiy Kuznetsov, is already in custody in Germany. He was arrested last summer while vacationing in Italy. At the end of June, the German federal prosecutor’s office filed formal charges against Kuznetsov. The document states that he and other members of the group acted as servicemen of the Ukrainian army.
According to media reports, police arrested him during the filming of a Hollywood movie about the same sabotage, whose working title is “Snake Island.” The plot is inspired by the explosions on the Baltic Sea floor: a secret group of Ukrainian divers embarks on a dangerous underwater mission. In early August the film crew worked in Zagreb, then moved to Pula, presumably to shoot underwater scenes. It was in Pula that Zhuravlyov was detained.
The explosions on the pipelines occurred on 26 September 2022 year near the Danish island of Bornholm. Zhuravlyov was first detained on 30 September 2025 year in Pruszków, Poland, but the Warsaw court refused his extradition and released the Ukrainian. Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk then wrote: “And that’s right. Case closed.”
In Croatia the court placed Zhuravlyov in custody. His local lawyer, Matija Miloš, emphasized that Germany is requesting extradition based on the same facts that were already rejected in Poland.
Kuznetsov was transferred from Italy to Germany in November 2025 year. In total, German investigators suspect seven Ukrainians.
The Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized that Ukraine’s involvement has not been established.
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