Croatian court allows extradition of Nord Stream blast suspect to Germany

A Croatian court has ruled that the Ukrainian suspected of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts can be extradited to Germany.

German prosecutors have said that Vladimir Z. was a scuba diver who was part of a group behind the explosions, which followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier that year.

The blasts damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a lifeline for Russian gas exports to Europe, as well as the Nord Stream 2 branch, which had not yet entered service.

Vladimir Z.’s lawyer, Mykola Katerynchuk, dismissed the court’s decision as biased and political and said there would be an appeal.

German courts have treated the case as falling within their jurisdiction because the damaged pipelines terminate in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and their destruction affected Germany’s energy security and internal security.

Vladimir Z. was arrested in August at a hotel in the Croatian coastal city of Pula on a European arrest warrant. He has denied any involvement, his lawyers said.

Another 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. He has also denied any involvement in the explosions near the Danish island of Bornholm.