A Ukrainian man wanted in Germany in connection with the Nord Stream explosions was arrested while working on a Hollywood movie about the gas pipeline attack starring Adrien Brody and Sean Penn, a report said Thursday.
Police in Pula, Croatia, on Wednesday detained Volodymyr Zhuravlov under a European arrest warrant put out by Germany, which is seeking his extradition.
German prosecutors say Zhuravlov 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 U.S. director Doug Liman (“Bourne Identity”), with Brody and three-time Oscar winner Penn.
Zhuravlov worked as an advisor for the film, according to media reports.
The Ukrainian suspect had previously been held in Poland for his alleged role in destroying the pipelines.
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.
Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, viewing them as an attempt by Russia to use its vast energy resources to gain leverage across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time of Zhuravlov’s extradition hearing that it would not be in Poland’s interest to hand him over.
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 with the aim of depriving Russia of future energy revenues to finance its war in Ukraine.
Prosecutors charge Zhuravlov worked closely with Serhii Kuznetsov, another Ukrainian man who was arrested in Italy last year before being extradited to Germany.
Kuznetsov faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an “accomplice to war crimes” by attacking civilian objects.
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 Zelenskyy has said his government knew nothing about any plan to blow up the pipelines.
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