Croatian law enforcement authorities imposed a permanent measure of "detention in custody" on Ukrainian citizen Vladimir Zh. (identified in some media as Vladimir Zhuravlev), suspected by the German prosecutor's office of participation in the detonation of the "Nord Stream" gas pipelines in 2022, writes Ukrainska Pravda.
The arrest was carried out on August 19 in the coastal city of Pula on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany [Currenttime.tv]. The extreme irony in this case is that the suspect was detained while participating in the filming of the Hollywood political thriller “Snake Island“, which tells the story of the explosions of the underwater infrastructure [Meduza.io].
Hollywood set for a real saboteur
According to an investigation by the German legal publication Legal Tribune Online (LTO), quoted by leading European agencies, Vladimir Zh. was hired as part of the film's technical team due to his expertise as a deep-sea professional diver [Bfm.ru]. The film is directed by the creator of “The Bourne Identity“ Doug Liman, and the main roles are played by world stars Sean Penn and Adrien Brody [Rtvi.com].
The plot of the film follows a secret mission of Ukrainian divers to the bottom of the Baltic Sea [Eurointegration.com.ua]. The team has moved to the city of Pula to shoot realistic underwater scenes, where the local police are interrupted the Ukrainian's engagement [Reform.news].
Background of the persecution and diplomatic tension
The German investigation indicates that Vladimir Zh. was part of a six-member group that rented the yacht “Andromeda“ to plant explosives off the island of Bornholm in September 2022 [Bfm.ru]. This arrest is the third attempt by German authorities to get hold of the diver:
- Summer 2024: Evades arrest in Poland by crossing the border into Ukraine in a car with diplomatic license plates from the Ukrainian embassy in Warsaw [Currenttime.tv].
- Autumn 2025: Detained again in Poland, but the Polish court refuses extradition to Germany, unofficially accepting the sabotage as legitimate self-defense of Ukraine [Bfm.ru, Rtvi.com]. Prime Minister Donald Tusk then commented sharply that the authors of the “Nord Stream“ project should only “be silent and ashamed“ [Currenttime.tv].
Now the defense of the Ukrainian citizen in Croatia is preparing a three-day appeal, arguing that Berlin is demanding extradition based on the same legal facts that Warsaw has already rejected [Pravda.com.ua]. However, analysts believe that the chances of Croatia handing over the suspect to the German court are extremely high due to the lack of a sharp political position on the part of Zagreb on the case [Kommersant.ru].
Expansion of the German investigation
Vladimir Zh. is the second key detainee in the mega-case [Novayagazeta.ru]. The first is the alleged leader of the operation - captain of the Ukrainian Air Force Sergey Kuznetsov, who was arrested in Italy in August 2025 and extradited to Germany [Kommersant.ru]. On July 1, 2026, the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany officially charged him based on 136 pages of evidence indicating a direct “state fingerprint“ and the participation of Ukrainian servicemen on the orders of state authorities [Kommersant.ru, Rtvi.com]. The trial against Kuznetsov in Hamburg is scheduled for October 26, 2026. [Nv.ua].
Official Kiev and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine continue to categorically deny any involvement of the Ukrainian state and its officials in the sabotage of the gas pipelines [Nv.ua, Nv.ua].