German Authorities Arrest Russian Spies Plotting to Sabotage Military Aid Deliveries to Ukraine
Today, German prosecutors announced that police in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth have arrested two men on suspicion of espionage and sabotage for Russia. The German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office announced in Karlsruhe that the detainees are accused of, among other things, acting as agents for sabotage and preparing explosives. After the announcement of the arrests, Germany also summoned the Russian ambassador to Berlin, DW and Spiegel reported.
The arrests of the men, identified as Dieter S. and Alexander J., were made on the basis of arrest warrants issued by an investigating judge of the Federal Court on 9 and 11 April 2024. In addition, searches were carried out at the defendants' homes and workplaces with the support of the Bavarian Criminal Police Office.
Dieter S. is accused of conspiracy to commit acts of sabotage, including explosion and arson. The man was in contact with a person associated with the Russian Secret Service. Since October 2023, he had been "exchanging views on possible sabotage actions in Germany". These actions were intended, in particular, to undermine Germany's military support to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression. Against this background, the accused told his interlocutor that he was ready to carry out explosions and arson attacks, especially on infrastructure used by military and industrial facilities in Germany, the press release said. During his preparations, Dieter S. collected information about potential targets, including US military installations, and took photos and videos, for example, of military vehicles.
It is also known that Dieter S. worked in eastern Ukraine from December 2014 to September 2016 as a militant of the armed group of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and carried firearms. As noted, Alexander Y. has been helping S. since March 2024.
This is not the first case of exposing Russian spies in Europe in general and in Germany in particular. After the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, hundreds of employees of Russian embassies and consulates were expelled from the EU, and a German intelligence officer and a former Austrian intelligence officer were arrested on serious charges of spying for Russia.
As The Gaze previously reported, the European Parliament recently imposed sanctions on a 73-year-old MEP from the Latvian-Russian alliance accused of spying for Russia, which has been subversive for decades.