Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev arrested in Croatia over Nord Stream bombing

It could be a Hollywood script – with a twist.

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.

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.

Here is more about Zhuravlev, the Nord Stream bombings and the Hollywood connection.

Who is Volodymyr Zhuravlev?

Zhuravlev is a Ukrainian citizen, professional scuba diver and diving instructor. Some reports indicate he is affiliated with a diving school in 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.

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.

Zhuravlev denies any role in the sabotage.

In 2024, Zhuravlev evaded arrest in Poland and fled back to 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. Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream projects.

It is unclear whether Zhuravlev was in Croatia without the knowledge of the local authorities, who eventually arrested him. According to German federal prosecutors, local police forces detained him on a European arrest warrant.

Zhuravlev’s lawyers will now try to prevent his extradition to 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.

What do we know about the Nord Stream pipelines?

On September 26, 2022, explosions occurred along two Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Germany. The explosions damaged the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and Nord Stream 2, which was yet to enter 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.

Berlin has long insisted Nord Stream 2 was a purely commercial project. However, it carries geopolitical 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.

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.

The explosions occurred in international waters but within the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden.

No state has ever claimed responsibility for the blasts. Denmark and Sweden closed their investigations into the explosions in 2024, but Germany is still investigating the case.

Federal prosecutors in Germany brought charges against a former Ukrainian army officer identified as Serhii K in July this year. The prosecutors insisted that he was acting on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence authorities. He was arrested in Italy in August 2025 on a German arrest warrant, and then transferred to Germany in November 2025.

The Ukrainian government denies any involvement in the pipeline explosions.

Prosecutors said Sehrii K led a team of professional divers, a skipper and an explosives expert. These suspects entered Germany in September 2022 on a forged Ukrainian passport and boarded a yacht rented using forged identification 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.

What is Zhuravlev’s link to Hollywood?

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.

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. Liman’s upcoming fictional political thriller about the gas pipelines stars multiple Oscar winners Sean Penn and Adrien Brody.

Brody has been seen at the site of the film shooting, where Zhurvalev was spotted before his arrest.