On August 20 (local time), according to TASS news agency, the Court in Pula city of Croatia decided to temporarily detain a Ukrainian citizen to wait for extradition to Germany - where this person is accused of being involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
In the announcement, the Pula Regional Court said that at the trial on August 20, the judge decided to temporarily detain this Ukrainian citizen to carry out the extradition procedure to the Federal Republic of Germany under a European arrest warrant.
According to a statement from the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, a Ukrainian citizen suspected of being involved in the explosions targeting the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines was arrested in the city of Pula, Croatia.
German investigators accuse this person, identified as Vladimir Z - a professional diver - of being in the group that placed explosives at pipelines near Bornholm Island in the Baltic Sea.
According to the prosecution, the suspect is believed to have participated in diving activities related to the attack. The sabotage group is accused of using fake papers to rent a yacht from a German company, then using this ship to transport explosives to the pipeline area.
Previously, the German Attorney General's Office said that on June 30, it prosecuted Sergey K - another Ukrainian citizen - accused of participating in explosions targeting the pipeline system. This case is expected to be tried at the High Regional Court in Hamburg.
The sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines occurred on September 26, 2022, when 3 lines of the Nord Stream system and the unfinished Nord Stream 2 line were found to be seriously damaged.
The Nord Stream pipelines are built under the Baltic Sea to transport gas from Russia to Germany. The incident shocked Europe and increased tensions related to energy security as well as relations between Russia and Western countries.
After the explosion, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office initiated a case with charges related to international terrorism.
Croatia's temporary detention of the Ukrainian suspect is considered the first step in the procedure for considering Germany's extradition request. According to the decision of the Pula court, this person will be temporarily detained to serve the process of handling the European arrest warrant issued by the German side.
