Croatian court approves extradition of Ukrainian Nord Stream sabotage suspect to Germany
A Croatian court has approved the extradition to Germany of Ukrainian citizen Volodymyr Zhuravlov, who is wanted by German authorities over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
The court approved Zhuravlov's extradition on Sept. 18, with the written ruling delivered to the parties five days later, according to Suspilne.
Under Croatian procedure, Zhuravlov can be handed over to German authorities once the ruling becomes final.
His Ukrainian lawyer, Mykola Katerynchuk, called the decision “biased and political” and said the defense would appeal.
Zhuravlov was detained in Croatia on Aug. 19 under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany and was subsequently placed in custody pending extradition proceedings.
He had previously been detained in Poland in September 2025 under the same German warrant, but a Polish court refused to extradite him. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk later said handing Zhuravlov over to Germany was not in Poland's interests.
German investigators suspect a group of Ukrainians of carrying out the September 2022 explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
German media have reported that investigators identified seven alleged members of the group and issued arrest warrants for six of them. Zhuravlov is among those wanted by Germany.