In a bizarre twist surrounding the investigation into the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the sabotage was arrested in Croatia while reportedly working as a consultant on a Hollywood film about the same case.
Volodymyr Zhuravlev was arrested in the Croatian city of Pula under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany, according to German authorities. His arrest came as a film crew was preparing scenes for Snake Island, a political thriller directed by Doug Liman and starring Sean Penn and Adrien Brody.
The film reportedly focuses on the Nord Stream explosions, which damaged the pipelines carrying Russian natural gas toward Germany in September 2022.
Suspect reportedly involved in the film
The arrest took place after Zhuravlev allegedly travelled to Croatia, where German media reports suggested he had been working as a consultant for the production.
The coincidence was particularly striking because the film itself reportedly portrays events surrounding the pipeline sabotage for which Zhuravlev is suspected.
Earlier in August, residents of Zagreb had seen film crews, extras dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms and barricades outside the city’s Esplanade Hotel. The production later moved toward Pula, an ancient Roman port on Croatia’s Adriatic coast.
Photos published by Croatian media showed police officers escorting a middle aged man wearing a blue shirt and brown hat.
It remains unclear who alerted Croatian authorities to Zhuravlev’s presence or precisely what role he was playing in the production.
German federal prosecutors said Zhuravlev was arrested on the basis of a European arrest warrant.
Authorities describe him as an experienced professional diver and allege that he was part of a group involved in planting explosives near the Danish island of Bornholm.
Another Ukrainian suspect, identified as Serhiy K., was extradited to Germany from Italy in 2025.
German prosecutors have alleged that the divers had links to Ukrainian state agencies and acted on orders from unidentified intelligence officials. Both men have denied involvement in the explosions.
The Ukrainian government has also denied responsibility for the Nord Stream sabotage and has called for the circumstances surrounding the blasts to be fully established.
Zhuravlev’s lawyers are expected to challenge his extradition to Germany, where he could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
His Polish defence lawyer, Timotius Paprocki, argued that the Croatian proceedings could become an important test of European law because the case involves the same suspect, facts and European arrest warrant previously considered by Polish authorities.
A Polish court previously rejected Germany’s request to execute the European arrest warrant, arguing that Germany lacked jurisdiction and that the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines could potentially be viewed within the context of Ukraine’s defensive war.
Paprocki said the Croatian proceedings could raise questions about whether European courts should follow a consistent legal approach when dealing with the same case.
He also confirmed that Zhuravlev had not travelled to Croatia simply for a holiday, saying he must have had serious reasons for being there.
German newspaper Die Welt reported that there were indications Zhuravlev had been involved with the film production.
The case now places the real life Nord Stream investigation and a Hollywood production about the sabotage in an extraordinary collision, with the alleged suspect arrested in the very country where scenes depicting the same events were being filmed.
