Three Ukrainian males have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland for planning acts of sabotage in opposition to infrastructure in Europe on behalf of Russia, the German authorities mentioned Wednesday.
The federal prosecutor’s workplace in Berlin mentioned it was investigating the three males, who had been arrested over the previous 5 days, for a plan to ship incendiary and explosive units in parcels to addresses in Ukraine. None have been charged.
The goal, the prosecutor mentioned in an announcement, seemed to be a part of a plot to wreck logistical infrastructure for business freight. The assertion didn’t present additional particulars about potential targets.
One of many males, recognized solely as Vladyslav T. in accordance with Germany’s strict privateness guidelines, posted two take a look at packages in Cologne containing GPS transmitters in an effort to hint the route of the packages to Ukraine, the prosecutor mentioned.
One other man, Yevhen B., who was arrested Tuesday in Switzerland and shall be extradited to Germany, directed that motion, the prosecutor mentioned. A 3rd man, Daniil B., delivered the GPS transmitters and different objects for the take a look at packages, it mentioned.
The authorities are treating the boys as overseas brokers, and imagine that they had been directed by Russian state actors, the prosecutor mentioned.
Final yr, a package deal exploded at a DHL hub on the airport in Leipzig, in what Western intelligence officers believe was a test run for a plot coordinated by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. The fireplace in Leipzig was adopted by an analogous fireplace at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, England, and at a transport firm close to Warsaw.
A Romanian nationwide has since been detained by British police in reference to these fires.
Poland has additionally accused Russia of being behind a fireplace that worn out 1,400 small companies when a shopping center in Warsaw was nearly fully destroyed in Could of final yr. On Sunday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland accused Russia of being behind the blaze.
“We now know for certain that the good fireplace of the Marywilska procuring middle in Warsaw was brought on by arson ordered by the Russian particular providers,” he wrote on X.
The arrests come after a number of official warnings that Germany has turn out to be the goal of Russian hybrid assaults. Final yr, the authorities charged three Russian-German twin residents who they imagine had been employed to hold out acts of sabotage on industrial and navy websites. The navy has additionally reported overseas drones flying over coaching websites the place Ukrainian troopers are being educated.
The difficulty of Russian sabotage in Germany even made it into Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s inaugural speech to lawmakers on Wednesday.
“Take a look at the espionage and sabotage and the systematic disinformation of our inhabitants — that is overwhelmingly the work of the Russian authorities and its helpers, together with right here,” he mentioned.
