Zelensky says Ukraine had no role in Nord Stream pipeline blast after suspect arrested

Croatian police have detained a second Ukrainian national in connection with the 2022 sabotage of the pipelines linking Russia to Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country played no role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe, following the arrest in Croatia of a second Ukrainian suspect sought by Germany.

“Ukraine has never even been involved in even the idea of this operation,” Zelensky told reporters during the Ukraine Nordic-Baltic summit in Kyiv on Sunday. “I hope there will be results of the investigation. We are ready to help.”

Croatian police arrested a Ukrainian national identified only as Vladimir Z at Germany’s request, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.

He is a trained scuba diver who was allegedly part of a group that used explosives to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in September 2022, according to German authorities.

Last year, Ukrainian national Serhii K was arrested in Italy and extradited to Germany where he was later charged over the sabotage.

The Nord Stream 1 undersea link via the Baltic Sea to Germany was the main route for Russian pipeline gas flows before the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while the second pipeline was completed but never operated. In 2021, the year before the war started, Nord Stream 1 delivered more than a third of Russia’s total gas exports to Europe.