German authorities have arrested two Russo-German nationals over alleged involvement in espionage on behalf of the Russian Federation, and for gathering information on potential targets for attack–including U.S. military facilities–according to international media.
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office reported that the two detainees, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., collaborated with a Russian secret service agent to undermine international military support for Ukraine.
Dieter S. is suspected to be a former advocate for pro-Kremlin forces in eastern Ukraine and is accused of making arrangements for an incendiary device to detonate and/or arson attacks in Germany.
The Federal Criminal Police Office caught the two suspects on Wednesday in Bayreuth, a city located in the southern state of Bavaria.
Prosecutors noted that arrest warrants issued on April 9 charge both men with working for a foreign secret service and carrying out “activity for sabotage purposes,” and for illicitly obtaining “security-threatening depictions of military installations.”
The prosecutor’s statement indicated that Dieter S. has been in correspondence with a “person linked to the Russian secret service” since October, 2023, with whom he discussed potential collaborative operations as a saboteur of German security.
A separate arrest warrant issued on April 11 accuses Dieter S. of belonging to a foreign terrorist organization and of the “planning of a serious act of violence endangering the state.”