German prosecutors said Wednesday they had arrested three Ukrainians accused of plotting sabotage attacks on goods transports for Russia, amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Berlin.
The suspects, detained in Germany and Switzerland, had told individuals “believed to be acting on behalf of Russian state authorities” that they were ready “to commit arson and explosive attacks on goods transport in Germany”, federal prosecutors said.
The accused allegedly aimed to send packages from Germany “containing explosive or incendiary devices to recipients in Ukraine, which would ignite during transport”, they said.
Germany has been on high alert for sabotage plots directed from Moscow since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to a rapid deterioration in ties.
One of the suspects, partially identified as Vladyslav T., posted two test packages in Cologne at the end of March, which contained GPS trackers, prosecutors said.
The order to send them was given by Yevhen B., who provided the contents from the packages via the third suspect, Daniil B.
The suspects, arrested between Friday last week and Tuesday, are “strongly suspected” of acting as foreign agents for the purpose of carrying out sabotage, prosecutors said.
They are also accused of plotting to commit arson and cause explosions.
Vladyslav T. and Daniil B., arrested in the German cities of Cologne and Konstanz, respectively, have been remanded in custody.
Yevhen B. was detained in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, and is due to appear before a judge after being transferred to Germany.
Moscow-Berlin relations have been in the deep freeze since Russia invaded Ukraine and the West imposed a barrage of punishing sanctions.
Germany, Kyiv’s second-biggest military back after the United States, has been shaken by a string of alleged sabotage and espionage cases linked to Russia.
In a case separate from Wednesday’s arrests, media recently reported that European intelligence services believed that Russia was behind a plot to plant explosive devices on cargo planes.
Several people reportedly implicated in the operation, which saw parcels explode at two DHL depots last July, were thought to be low-level operatives hired by Moscow.
In other cases of alleged Russian interference, a former German intelligence officer stands accused of handing sensitive information to Moscow while Berlin has blamed Moscow for being behind a cyberattack on members of the centre-left SPD party.
Russia has denied being behind such actions.
New Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to keep up Germany’s support for Ukraine, insisting that: “There must be no doubt where we stand: namely… on the side of this attacked country”.
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