See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:48 BST, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 09:48 BST, 21 August 2026
A Ukrainian man has been arrested in connection with the Nord Stream bombing while working on the set of a Hollywood movie about the gas pipeline attack starring Sean Penn. Police in Pula, Croatia, on Wednesday arrested Volodymyr Zhuravlyov under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany, which is seeking his extradition.German prosecutors say Zhuravlyov is a trained diver and accuse him of helping plant explosives on the Baltic Sea energy link between Russia and Germany that destroyed three of the four pipelines in 2022.Germany's Legal Tribune Online reported he was arrested while working on the set for the movie 'Snake Island' by US director Doug Liman ('Bourne Identity'), starring three-time Oscar winner Penn and Adrien Brody. The suspect was 'strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures,' prosecutors said. Zhuravlyov worked as an advisor for the film, according to media reports.No one has ever taken responsibility for explosions that severely damaged pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe, marking a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and ramping up an energy supply crisis on the continent. The Ukrainian suspect had previously been held in Poland for his alleged role in destroying the pipelines. Ukrainian Volodymyr Zhuravlyov has been arrested in connection with the Nord Stream bombing. He was previously held in Poland for his alleged role in destroying the pipelines. Pictured: Zhuravlyov, right, listens as a judge announces the decision not to allow extradition to Germany in the courtroom of Warsaw's Regional Court in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, October 2025 Zhuravlyov was arrested while working on the set for the movie 'Snake Island' by US director Doug Liman ('Bourne Identity'), starring three-time Oscar winner Penn (pictured on set of the movie in Croatia) But authorities there refused to extradite him and let him go, judging that any such Ukrainian attack would have been a legitimate act of war rather than a crime.The Baltic Sea sabotage attack came months after Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.German investigators believe the attack was ordered by a Ukrainian state agency to deprive Russia of future energy revenues to finance its war in Ukraine.Prosecutors claim Zhuravlyov worked closely with Sergiy Kuznetsov, another Ukrainian man who was arrested in Italy last year before being extradited to Germany.The case is politically awkward for Germany and Ukraine, as Berlin has strongly backed Kyiv in its fight against Russia.German government officials, when asked about the issue, have pointed to the independence of the judiciary.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his government knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines.
