Croatia postpones extradition hearing for Ukrainian in Nord Stream case after Germany adds "war crime" charge
A Croatian court postponed a 4 September hearing on the extradition of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlov to Germany in the Nord Stream sabotage case. The postponement came after German prosecutors updated the European arrest warrant to add a "war crime" qualification to the existing charges. Zhuravlov's defense team, law firm Katerynchuk, Moor and Partners, said the change opens a new stage in fighting for his rights.
Key points
- A Croatian court postponed the 4 September hearing on Volodymyr Zhuravlov's extradition to Germany.
- The hearing was postponed because Germany updated the European arrest warrant and added a "war crime" qualification.
- Zhuravlov's lawyers, Katerynchuk, Moor and Partners, said the change marks a new stage in defending their client.
- Zhuravlov was detained in Croatia on 19 August on the basis of a European arrest warrant and placed in pre-trial detention.
- German investigators consider Zhuravlov one of the divers who planted explosives on the gas pipelines; it is their third attempt to detain him, after Poland refused extradition in September 2025.
Why it matters
The postponement extends Zhuravlov's extradition proceedings and signals that German prosecutors are expanding the legal theory they intend to pursue at trial, beyond the original sabotage and destruction charges.
What happened
On 4 September, a Croatian court was scheduled to consider the extradition of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlov to Germany, where he is wanted in connection with the September 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. The hearing was postponed after the German side updated the European arrest warrant, adding "war crime" to the existing charges of joint perpetration of an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of facilities. Katerynchuk, Moor and Partners, the law firm representing Zhuravlov, said the new qualification opens a fresh stage in the defense. Zhuravlov had been detained in Croatia on 19 August on the basis of the European arrest warrant, and a Croatian court ordered his pre-trial detention.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on when Zhuravlov was detained in Croatia: one account gives 19 August (year not specified), while another gives August 2026. Sources also diverge on when Serhiy Kuznetsov was extradited to Germany, with one saying autumn 2025 and another saying November 2025.
Background
On the night of 26 September 2022, three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were destroyed by explosions at the bottom of the Baltic Sea; both pipelines were not operating at the time but were filled with technical gas. In August 2025, German investigators issued arrest warrants for six Ukrainian citizens suspected of carrying out the sabotage. The main suspect identified by the investigation is Serhiy Kuznetsov, considered the commander of the group; he denies the charges, was detained in Italy in August 2025, extradited to Germany in autumn (November) 2025, and was formally indicted on 1 July 2026, with his trial scheduled for late October in Hamburg. Volodymyr Zhuravlov, identified by the German investigation as one of the divers who planted the explosives, was detained in Poland in September 2025 on the same European arrest warrant, but a Polish court refused to extradite him; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his extradition was not in Warsaw's interests, and Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said: "We cannot punish someone who defends his homeland in various ways." The German side has spoken of a so-called Ukrainian "state trace" in the case; on 9 July the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said its investigation had found no evidence of Ukraine's, its authorities', or officials' involvement. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that the operation was planned by several high-ranking Ukrainian military officers and businessmen and was carried out from an ordinary sailing yacht using publicly available seabed maps. Russia accused the United Kingdom of the explosions; London rejected the accusations.