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Germany arrests men allegedly spying for Russia in plan to sabotage Ukrainian aid
Germany has arrested two men for allegedly spying for Russia, with one planning to carry out attacks in the hopes of sabotaging aid intended for Ukraine.
The two German-Russian men were identified only as Dieter S and Alexander J, in line with German privacy rules, after they were arrested on Wednesday in Bayreuth.
According to federal prosecutors, they were arrested on suspicion of espionage with one of them allegedly having agreed to carry out attacks on potential targets including US military facilities – all in the hopes of affecting aid for Ukraine.
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Dieter S was alleged to have discussed carrying out acts of sabotage within Germany, with a person linked to Russian intelligence since as far back as October.
It was said that the aim was to undermine German military support given to Ukraine.
In a statement, prosecutors said that the suspect declared himself willing to carry out bombing and arson attacks on infrastructure used by the military and industrial sites in Germany.
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Dieter S gathered information on potential targets, prosecutors added.
He was alleged to have been helped by his co-defendant from March at the latest.
Dieter S scouted some of the sites, taking photos and videos of military goods and passing information to his intelligence contact.
A judge ordered that Dieter S should be kept in custody pending a possible indictment.
Alexander J is due to make a closed-doors court appearance today.
Dieter S also faces separate accusations of being part of an armed unit of pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, from 2014 to 2016.
Germany has become the second-biggest supplier of weapons to Ukraine, after the US, since Russia ignited its full-scale invasion over two years ago.