Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-08-21 · by Al Jazeera Staff
Croatian authorities on Wednesday arrested Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev in connection with the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connected Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, while he was on the set of a Hollywood film under production.
asserted
he → arrest → production
German media reported that Zhuravlev, a scuba diver, had been working as a consultant on the set of an upcoming Hollywood movie called Snake Island, a dramatic reconstruction of the bombings that he was allegedly involved in.
uncertain
he → report → that
Some reports indicate he is affiliated with a diving school in Kyiv.
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he → indicate → Kyiv
He is sometimes referred to in German prosecution filings as Vladimir Z, identified under German privacy rules only by his first name and initial.
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He → refer → name
According to German authorities, he is one of the suspects in the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline bombing and was reportedly arrested by Croatian authorities.
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he → accord → authorities
Zhuravlev denies any role in the sabotage.
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Zhuravlev → deny → sabotage
In 2024, Zhuravlev evaded arrest in Poland and fled back to Ukraine.
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Zhuravlev → evade → Ukraine
Last year, a Polish court refused to enforce the European arrest warrant issued by Germany against him, ruling that German authorities had no jurisdiction and that the Nord Stream destruction could be viewed as a justified act by Ukraine in a defensive war.
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destruction → refuse → war
Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream projects.
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Poland → oppose → projects
It is unclear whether Zhuravlev was in Croatia without the knowledge of the local authorities, who eventually arrested him.
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who → arrest → him
According to German federal prosecutors, local police forces detained him on a European arrest warrant.
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forces → accord → warrant
Zhuravlev’s lawyers will now try to prevent his extradition to Germany.
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lawyers → try → Germany
His Polish defence lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, said if a Croatian court hears this case, it would amount to a ruling on something already decided in Poland, another member state of the European Union, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
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Guardian → say → Thursday
What do we know about the Nord Stream pipelines?
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we → know → pipelines
On September 26, 2022, explosions occurred along two Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Germany.
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that → occur → Germany
The explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and Nord Stream 2, which was yet to enter service.
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which → damage → service
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, costing about $11bn and owned by Russia’s state-backed energy giant Gazprom, ran under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, doubling the capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 route.
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pipeline → cost → route
Berlin has long insisted Nord Stream 2 was a purely commercial project.
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Stream → insist → ?
However, it carries geopolitical implications.
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it → carry → implications
By bypassing Ukraine, it threatened to cut off billions of dollars in annual transit fees that Kyiv earned from Russian gas flows across its territory.
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Kyiv → bypass → territory
Following Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the pipelines also became a symbol of Europe’s continued energy dependence on Moscow, and the revenue that the Kremlin was earning from exports to the continent.
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Kremlin → follow → continent
The explosions occurred in international waters but within the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden.
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explosions → occur → Denmark
No state has ever claimed responsibility for the blasts.
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state → claim → blasts
Denmark and Sweden closed their investigations into the explosions in 2024, but Germany is still investigating the case.
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Germany → close → case
Federal prosecutors in Germany brought charges against a former Ukrainian army officer identified as Serhii K in July this year.
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prosecutors → bring → July
The prosecutors insisted that he was acting on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence authorities.
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he → insist → authorities
He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 on a German arrest warrant, and then transferred to Germany in November 2025.
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He → arrest → November
The Ukrainian government denies any involvement in the pipeline explosions.
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government → deny → explosions
Prosecutors said Sehrii K led a team of professional divers, a skipper and an explosives expert.
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K → say → divers
These suspects entered Germany in September 2022 on a forged Ukrainian passport and boarded a yacht rented using forged identification documents.
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suspects → enter → documents
The prosecutors’ statement said the team transported large quantities of military‑grade explosives through international waters to an area near the Danish island of Bornholm, then fixed them to the pipelines on the Baltic Sea seabed and set time fuses to trigger the blasts.
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team → say → blasts
German media reported that at the time of his arrest, Zhuravlev was working as a consultant on the set of Snake Island, which is being filmed in Croatia’s Zagreb.
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which → report → Zagreb
Snake Island is directed by Doug Liman, also known for directing the 2002 thriller, The Bourne Identity, the 2005 action comedy Mr and Mrs Smith, and the 2014 science fiction film, Edge of Tomorrow.
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Island → direct → Tomorrow
Liman’s upcoming fictional political thriller about the gas pipelines stars multiple Oscar winners Sean Penn and Adrien Brody.
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thriller → star → winners
Brody has been seen at the site of the film shooting, where Zhurvalev was spotted before his arrest.
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Zhurvalev → see → arrest
