German prosecutors have accused German-Russians of preparing to “carry out explosions and arson” against US military facilities in the country.
Germany has arrested two dual German-Russian nationals on suspicion of planning sabotage attacks on U.S. military facilities in the country in order to undermine Western military aid to Ukraine.
German prosecutors said Thursday that two men, Dieter S. and Alexander J., had their homes and workplaces raided the previous day in the town of Bayreuth in southeastern Bavaria on suspicion of working for foreigners. He was searched and arrested, it was announced. intelligence agency.”
They said in a statement that Mr. Dieter had contacted interlocutors with ties to Russian secret services and exchanged information he had gathered.
Alexander began assisting him in March 2024, prosecutors added.
Dieter's secret communications began in October last year, and included preparations to “carry out explosive and arson attacks” against military infrastructure and industrial sites in Germany, including U.S. military facilities.
Dieter and Alexander are said to have scouted numerous targets, taking photos and videos of, among other things, military shipments and supplies, which were then passed on to their Russian contacts.
According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, the facilities also included the Grafenwohr Army base in Bavaria, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained to use US Abrams tanks.
According to German authorities, Dieter was involved in fighting in eastern Ukraine from December 2014 to September 2016 with armed forces from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a Moscow-backed breakaway region of Ukraine that was annexed by Russia in 2022. He was said to have been working as a member of the police and was in possession of a weapon. Firearms in this context.
Dieter faces additional charges of belonging to a “foreign terrorist organization” for his activities in Ukraine.
The arrests come amid more than two years of intense fighting following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Germany is one of Ukraine's biggest suppliers of military aid.
“Our security services thwarted a possible explosive attack aimed at targeting and weakening our military support to Ukraine,” German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said in a statement.
“This is a particularly serious case of suspected espionage. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's criminal regime. ”
Thursday's announcement of the arrests coincided with a surprise visit to Ukraine by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck to offer further assistance.
Habeck will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly lamented the lack of strong air defenses amid increasing Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
