Germany charges three over spying on Ukrainian soldier for Moscow
German prosecutors said Wednesday they had charged three people with spying for tailing a former Ukrainian soldier on behalf of Russian intelligence as part of a potential assassination plot.
The accused were partially identified by prosecutors as Ukrainian national Robert A., Armenian Vardges I. and Russian Arman S., who were arrested last year in Frankfurt.
The trio faced charges of "working for a foreign intelligence service", in a case prosecutors labelled "particularly serious".
According to investigators, Vardges I. received an order from a Russian intelligence service in May 2024 to spy on a man who had "participated in combat operations for the Ukrainian armed forces" following Russia's 2022 invasion.
Also Read | Trump calls Putin 'crazy' over Ukraine offensive, warns of Russia's 'downfall'
Subsequently, the Armenian suspect is said to have recruited Robert A. and Arman S. to support the operation.
The suspects planned to lead the Ukrainian target under false pretences to a cafe in the western German city of Frankfurt on June 19, 2024.
The three men were at the location on the day to identify the target and "obtain further information about him".
The target had however already contacted German authorities over the suspicious activity and did not appear in the cafe. Instead, the suspects were arrested by police.
"The surveillance operation presumably served as preparation for further intelligence operations in Germany, possibly including the assassination of the target," prosecutors said.
Germany has uncovered numerous cases of suspected espionage and sabotage on its soil since Russia's launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Earlier this month, three German-Russian dual nationals went on trial in Munich accused of spying for Moscow and preparing attacks on critical military infrastructure and industry.
Prosecutors this month also said they had arrested three Ukrainians accused of plotting sabotage attacks on goods traffic for Russia.
In April 2024, a German former soldier was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
A former German intelligence officer also went on trial last year accused of passing information to Moscow that showed Germany had access to details of Russian mercenary operations in Ukraine. He denies the charges.
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