Second suspect in Nord Stream case arrested in Croatia, say German prosecutors

FRANKFURT, Aug 19 (Reuters) – A second suspect accused of taking part in the 2022 Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts has been arrested in Croatia and will be extradited to Germany, said German prosecutors on Wednesday.

In its statement, the federal prosecutors’ office identified the Ukrainian national only as Vladimir Z., adding he was arrested in the seafront Croatian city of Pula by local police forces who acted on a European arrest warrant.

Prosecutors had brought criminal charges in July against another Ukrainian, former army officer Serhii K., for involvement in the blasts, accusing him of acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.

In their statement on Wednesday, prosecutors said trained scuba diver Vladimir Z. was part of a group led by Serhii K. that planted explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. 

Russia and Western countries have described the September 2022 explosions, which followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier that year, as sabotage.

The explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a vital route for Russian gas exports to Europe, as well as the Nord Stream 2 branch, which had yet to enter service.

At the time of the alleged attack, Moscow had recently halted gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1, blaming Western sanctions and technical issues, though Europe accused it of weaponising energy supplies.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Miranda Murray)