Ukrainian man accused in Nord Stream bombing arrested while working on Hollywood movie about attack
Ukrainian authorities arrested a man wanted by Germany in connection with the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions while he was reportedly working as an adviser on a Hollywood film about the attack.
Volodymyr Zhuravlyov was detained Wednesday by police in Pula, Croatia, under a European arrest warrant issued by Germany, which is seeking his extradition. German prosecutors accuse Zhuravlyov, a trained diver, of helping place explosives that destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia and Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
Zhuravlyov was reportedly working on the set of “Snake Island,” a film directed by Doug Liman and starring Adrien Brody and Sean Penn. Media reports said he was serving as an adviser on the production, although the details of his role were not immediately confirmed by German or Croatian officials.
The Ukrainian suspect had previously been detained in Poland over the alleged pipeline attack. Polish authorities declined to extradite him and released him, determining that an attack by Ukraine against Russia's energy infrastructure could be considered a legitimate act of war rather than a criminal offense.
The Nord Stream explosions occurred in September 2022, several months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The blasts severely damaged the pipelines, which were designed to transport Russian natural gas to Germany.
German investigators believe a Ukrainian state agency may have ordered the operation as a way of preventing Russia from generating future energy revenue that could support its war effort. Prosecutors allege Zhuravlyov worked with Sergiy Kuznetsov, another Ukrainian suspect who was arrested in Italy and later extradited to Germany.
The investigation has created a politically sensitive situation for Germany and Ukraine, particularly because Germany has been a major supporter of Kyiv during the war. German officials have emphasized that the country's judicial system operates independently.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied that his government knew about or authorized any plan to destroy the pipelines.
Comments
Post a Comment