Special Forces Detain Russian Saboteurs In Germany

They were planning to disrupt arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Western arms supplies to Ukraine was one of the targets of Russian special services. German special forces have detained two men in Bavaria who were monitoring military factories, arms delivery routes and a US base where Ukrainian tankers are being trained, as well as planning sabotage at military and industrial facilities.

The main accused is 39-year-old German-Russian citizen Dieter S., and his accomplice is 37-year-old Alexander J., who also has dual citizenship and is a Russian intelligence agent, Der Spiegel reported. According to investigators, Dieter S. discussed sabotage operations in Germany with contacts from the Russian intelligence services from October 2023. They planned arson and explosions at military infrastructure facilities, defence enterprises and industrial facilities, sabotage on the routes of arms supplies to Ukraine.

According to Der Spiegel, the spies also monitored US military facilities in Germany, including a base in Bavaria's Grafenwoehr, where the Americans train Ukrainians to operate Abrams tanks.

Dieter S. has a pretty good training: in 2014-2016 he was a militiaman of the "Donetsk People's Republic". Since the "DPR" militia is considered a terrorist organisation in Germany, Dieter S. is also charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.

This is not the first case about the activities of Russian saboteurs in EU countries. Last year, a spy group whose members were collecting information on arms supplies to Ukraine was uncovered in Poland. As the Polish intelligence service reported in November, the tasks of 16 people "included identifying military and critical infrastructure facilities, tracking trains carrying military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and organising their derailments".