The latest evidence of Russia’s destabilization campaign in Europe. German authorities announced this Thursday, April 18, the arrest of two suspected Russian spies, suspected of having wanted to commit acts of sabotage, including against the American army, to support the “criminal Putin regime” in its war against Ukraine.
The two men, who have German and Russian nationalities, were arrested in Bayreuth, a town in Bavaria in the south-east of the country, the anti-terrorist prosecution said in a press release. Identified as Dieter S. and Alexander J, they are accused of having carried out scouting for potential targets for attacks, including “installations of the American armed forces” stationed on German soil. According to the German weekly Der Spiegelthe large Bavarian American base at Grafenwoehr, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained in the use of American Abrams combat tanks, was notably in the sights of the two spies.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser praised the work of the security services which “prevented possible explosive attacks which were to strike and undermine our military aid to Ukraine”. “This is a particularly serious case of alleged activity of agents for the criminal regime (of Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” she denounced on her X account.
The affair already has diplomatic consequences: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has summoned the Russian ambassador to Berlin, said a spokesperson for her ministry.
Linked to Russian intelligence since October 2023
Police also searched the homes and workplaces of the two men on Wednesday. Concretely, they are suspected of “having been active for a foreign intelligence service” in what prosecutors also describe as a “particularly serious case” of espionage.
The main accused, Dieter S., had been exchanging information with a person linked to the Russian intelligence services since October 2023 with a view to possible acts of sabotage on German territory. “The actions were aimed in particular at undermining Germany’s military support for Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression,” prosecutors said.
Dieter S. also reportedly declared himself ready to this contact to “commit explosive attacks and arson attacks, mainly against military infrastructure and industrial sites in Germany”. To this end, he gathered information on potential targets, took photos and filmed videos of certain potential targets such as transports and military equipment, and then allegedly communicated this information to his contact. Alexander J. joined him from the end of March 2024, according to the prosecution.
Dieter S. is also accused of belonging to a foreign “terrorist” organization, with prosecutors suspecting him of having been a fighter in a separatist armed militia from the “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine , between 2014 and 2016.
Increasing destabilization campaigns
Germany will not allow itself to be “intimidated”, declared the Minister of the Interior, adding that her country, the largest European supplier of arms to kyiv, would continue “to massively support Ukraine”. The announcement of these arrests comes as Economy Minister Robert Habeck makes a surprise visit to kyiv this Thursday.
This is not the first time that Germany has faced cases of alleged espionage on behalf of Russia, particularly since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. A former German secret agent is currently on trial in Berlin for transmitting classified information to the Russian security services (FSB) in the fall of 2022, an accusation he categorically denies. In November 2022, a German man was given a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence services while working as a reserve officer for the German army. Not far from Germany, in Austria, a former secret agent was arrested a few weeks ago, suspected of having “systematically” provided information to Russia for payment.
“We know that the Russian power apparatus is also targeting our country, we must react to this threat decisively,” commented Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. “Putin is waging war in Europe and against European values - and this war is not only being waged on Ukrainian soil. Moscow’s cyberattacks and hybrid attacks against the West are not new,” points out the german newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. While in France too, Russian disinformation campaigns have clearly increased in recent months to try to erode support for Ukraine, this new affair across the Rhine reminds us that Russia is directly attacking Ukraine. West. No offense to the loyal courtiers of the Kremlin.