- Ukrainian suspect to be extradited to Germany, prosecutors say
- Prosecutors say Vladimir Z. helped plant subsea explosives
- Suspect arrested in Croatian city of Pula by local police
German prosecutors said on Wednesday a second Ukrainian suspect they allege was involved in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts has been arrested in Croatia and will be extradited to Germany.
The first suspect in the case, former Ukrainian army officer Serhii K., was charged by prosecutors in July with orchestrating the blasts while acting on behalf of Ukrainian state entities.
Authorities in Kyiv have said they did not have enough information to respond in detail to the German allegations.
Germany’s federal prosecutors’ office identified the second Ukrainian national only as Vladimir Z. in a statement, adding that he was arrested in the Croatian city of Pula by local police forces who acted on a European arrest warrant.
The prosecutors said Vladimir Z. was a trained scuba diver who was part of a group led by Serhii K. that planted explosives targeting the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
Reuters could not immediately reach Vladimir Z. or a legal representative for comment.
The Istarska County Police Administration told Reuters that the Istrian police had made an arrest in a tourist facility in Pula on Wednesday morning and were checking to confirm if the person was the one wanted by the federal court in Karlsruhe.
“We are not able to confirm the identity of the arrested person at this moment,” the police said in a statement.
The Croatian justice ministry said in a statement that it had not received official information about the arrest, but added that under EU law authorized judicial bodies communicated with each other directly on extradition matters. In this case, it would be for the Pula court to decide, it said.
SABOTAGE
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, Moscow had recently halted gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1, blaming Western sanctions and technical issues, though Europe accused it of weaponising energy supplies.
The German prosecutors have said the aim of the alleged attack was to permanently halt gas deliveries through the pipelines and thereby prevent Russia from using revenue from the natural gas trade to finance its war effort.
German courts have treated the case as falling within their jurisdiction because the damaged pipelines end in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and their loss affected Germany’s energy security and internal safety.
COURTESY: Reuters
