Germany arrests two suspects of sabotage on behalf of Russia

The suspects were accused of planning explosive and arson attacks on industrial and military facilities in Germany and the United States to sabotage support for Ukraine. Two men have been arrested in Bavaria on charges of planning explosive attacks and arson to sabotage Ukraine’s support for the German government in Ukraine’s war against Russia.

The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office reported this Thursday (18/04) that the defendants, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., with dual German and Russian nationality, are being investigated on charges of having worked for a foreigner from the services secrets, in a case considered “particularly serious” by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The two suspects were arrested on Wednesday in the southern German city of Bayreuth. Their homes and workplaces were searched by the police.

Dieter S., the main defendant, is suspected of evaluating potential targets for the attacks, including U.S. military facilities in Germany.

Industrial and military objectives

According to the indictment, he had made himself available to “commit explosive and incendiary attacks, especially against military and industrial infrastructures in Germany”, which is why he had collected information on potential targets, “including military installations of the American armed forces”.

According to investigators, since October 2023 he had been exchanging information and discussing potential acts of sabotage with a person linked to the Russian intelligence services. “His actions were aimed in particular at sabotaging the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against Russian aggression.”, the investigators said.

Dieter S. photographed and filmed potential targets, such as transport vehicles and military equipment, and shared the information with his contact in Russian intelligence.

He is also expected to face charges of membership of a foreign terrorist organization, as prosecutors strongly suspect he fought for an armed group from the self-styled “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2016.

His accomplice, Alexander J., is suspected of having assisted him since March 2024.

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said Berlin is aware that “the Russian power apparatus is also targeting Germany” and believes the country must react to these threats decisively and defensively.

The arrest of the suspects, according to the minister, was “another significant success in the investigation” against the espionage and sabotage attempts perpetrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s networks.

Fertile ground for Russian espionage

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Germany has been the target of numerous espionage attempts by Russia, amid criticism that Berlin is acting too tolerant of Moscow.

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the country’s domestic intelligence agency, warned last year that Russian espionage and disinformation operations on German soil have increased significantly and are expected to continue to grow.

In August last year, a German serving in the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) was arrested on charges of having provided information about his work in an army division to diplomatic missions with the intention that it be passed on to Russian secret services.

A former German intelligence official is on trial in Berlin on charges of transferring classified information to Moscow. The transmitted data revealed that Germany had access to details of Russian mercenary operations in Ukraine. He denies the charges.

RC(ADP, DPA)

Source: Terra

Rose

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