Germany: two people arrested for espionage for Russia and attempted military sabotage

Both are strongly suspected of having worked for foreign secret services in a particularly serious case. Dieter S. is also accused of conspiracy to cause an explosion and arson, acting as an agent for the purpose of sabotage and taking photographs of military installations endangering security, membership of a foreign terrorist organization and of preparation for a serious act of violence that endangers the State.

There is also a strong suspicion that Dieter S. worked in eastern Ukraine between December 2014 and September 2016 as a fighter for an armed unit of the “Donetsk People's Republic”.

German support for Ukraine should be weakened

It appears that a US Army facility in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, was under surveillance. There is, among other things, an important military training area where the US army trains Ukrainian soldiers, for example on Abrams main battle tanks.

According to Federal Prosecutor General Dieter S. he is in contact with a person linked to the Russian secret services. The defendant had been communicating with this person since October 2023 about possible sabotage actions in the Federal Republic of Germany. The actions aimed in particular at weakening the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression. In this context, the accused declared to his interlocutor that he was ready to carry out explosive and arson attacks, in particular against infrastructure used by military and industrial sites in Germany

Grafenwöhr training base

To prepare for this, Dieter S. collected information on potential attack targets, including US military facilities. Alexander J. helped him from March 2024 at the latest. Dieter S. scouted the targeted locations, took photos and videos, for example military transport vehicles and goods. He forwarded the collected information to his contacts.

Dieter S. was brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice on Wednesday, who ordered him to be remanded in custody, Karlsruhe reported. Alexander J. is expected to be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice on Thursday.

“We will not be intimidated,” says Faeser, but in the meantime Germany is a sieve

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) then reaffirmed Germany's support for Ukraine. “Our security authorities prevented possible explosive attacks intended to target and undermine our military assistance to Ukraine.”

But Germany is effectively a sieve for the Russian services: a year ago an army employee was arrested for spying for Russia, in March this year another German soldier had offered secrets to Russia. Then there is the scandal of Russian interceptions of military communications between Bundeswehr officers . The credibility of the German army is, frankly, at its lowest.