Court in Croatia allows extradition of Ukrainian Zhuravlov to Germany in Nord Stream case

The County Court in Pula, Croatia, has allowed the extradition to Germany of Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravlov, who is suspected by German law enforcement of involvement in the blowing up of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

The decision was made by a panel of three judges, reports the Croatian outlet Večernji list.

The decision is not yet final. The parties have three days to file an appeal, after which any appeal will be considered by the High Criminal Court of Croatia.

Zhuravlov was detained in Pula on August 19 on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by an investigating judge of the Federal Court of Germany back in June 2024.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany stated that it considers Zhuravlov a professional diver and one of the members of a group that in September 2022 planted explosives on the gas pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm. According to investigators, the group used a yacht rented from a German company through intermediaries using forged documents.

The explosions occurred on September 26, 2022, and caused significant damage to both pipelines. In the original German warrant, Zhuravlov was charged with joint causing of an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of structures.

However, during the transfer procedure, the case took a new turn. In early September, the Croatian side received additional documents from Germany, and the court hearing was postponed. According to Index.hr, the new German request included the qualification of a war crime.

This point is important because the initial official statement by the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany regarding Zhuravlov's detention did not contain an accusation of a war crime. It concerned precisely the explosion, sabotage, and destruction of infrastructure.

Zhuravlov himself denied involvement in the blowing up of the pipelines. His defense also opposes extradition to Germany.

Zhuravlov was previously detained in Poland under a German warrant, but a Polish court refused to hand him over and released the Ukrainian. After his detention in Croatia, Germany again began seeking his extradition for criminal prosecution.

Separate proceedings are already underway in Germany regarding another Ukrainian, Serhiy K., whom the German prosecutor's office considers one of the members of the same group. The indictment against him was submitted to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg at the end of June 2026.

Based on materials from: Večernji list, Index.hr, Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany