Three men on trial in Germany accused of Russian sabotage plot
Three German-Russian dual citizens have gone on trial in Munich accused of spying on behalf of the Kremlin and planning attacks on critical military infrastructure and industry.
The alleged spies are said to have found code words for military goods and gathered confidential information about an oil refinery in Bavaria and a US military training area near the town of Grafenwöhr in the east of the state. The men are also said to have made plans to carry out bomb attacks on buildings and infrastructure used to support Ukraine.
The suspected ringleader, identified only as Dieter S in line with German privacy rules, is accused of coordinating a plot with the specific aim of undermining Germany's support for Ukraine through acts of sabotage.
He is on trial alongside Alexander J and Alex D, who are suspected of having supported his actions working at the behest of a foreign intelligence service.
The trio were arrested in April 2024 by Bavarian police close to the town of Bayreuth.
Dieter S faces additional charges for allegedly taking photographs and videos of military installations, a loading station and a tool manufacturing company, of hatching plans to cause an explosion and arson, and for preparing a grave act of violence threatening to state security.
He is also charged with membership of a foreign terrorist organisation, having allegedly been active as a fighter for the pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine since 2014. According to the federal prosecutor's office, it was during this period that he met the Russian intelligence agent with whom he is believed to have 'exchanged information', prosecutors allege, discussing possible sabotage operations in Germany starting in autumn 2023. The two men are alleged to have started to help Dieter S from March 2024.
Alexander J and Alex D had admitted to some of the alleged offences but 'denied any knowledge of spying' for a foreign government, the court spokesperson Laurent Lafleur told Agence France-Presse.
Dieter S denied all the charges against him, Lafleur said.
With Germany on high alert over threats of sabotage and espionage, three Ukrainians were arrested in Germany and Switzerland last week on similar charges. They were allegedly planning to carry out attacks on cargo transport in Germany on behalf of Russia. According to the federal prosecutor's office, they were plotting to send packages containing explosive devices to recipients in Ukraine that would 'detonate during transport'.
European intelligence services also suspect Russia of being behind a similar plot to plant explosive devices on cargo planes, which led to the explosion within days of each other of parcels at loading facilities belonging to DHL in Leipzig, Germany, Birmingham in the UK, and Warsaw, Poland.
An additional 40 court dates for the trial in the southern German city have been set to last into late December.
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