Nord Stream case: Croatian court approves extradition of Ukrainian Zhuravlov to Germany
The District Court in the Croatian city of Pula has approved the extradition of Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravlov to Germany, where he is suspected of involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
Source: European Pravda, citing Suspilne
Quote from the document: "Once this decision enters into force, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior will hand Volodymyr Zhuravlov over to the relevant German authorities."
Details: The extradition ruling was issued on 18 September, but the court provided written notification of it five days later.
Zhuravlov's Ukrainian lawyer, Mykola Katerynchuk, described the decision as biased and political and said it would be appealed.
Background:
- On 19 August, Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office announced the arrest in Croatia of Ukrainian citizen Zhuravlov in connection with the Nord Stream sabotage case. He had previously twice avoided arrest and extradition to Germany.
- Media reports said Zhuravlov was detained in Croatia while filming a Hollywood movie about the sabotage. The film is titled Snake Island.
- Another suspect in the case, Ukrainian citizen Serhii Kuznietsov, is already in custody in Germany after being detained while on holiday in Italy last summer.
- In late June 2026, Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office issued an official statement announcing charges against Kuznietsov. It said that he and other members of the group had acted as Ukrainian military personnel.
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