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News24
15-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Germany arrests 3 Ukrainians trying to send explosive parcels by mail
Germany arrested three Ukrainians over a plot to mail explosive parcels. The parcels were intended for Ukraine, said prosecutors. In 2024, a series of parcels blew up at depots in Britain, Germany and Poland. Three Ukrainians have been arrested over a plot to mail exploding parcels from Germany to Ukraine, prosecutors said, putting Europe's cross-border postal network in the spotlight as a target of suspected Russian sabotage. Together with cases of parcels detonating at European depots in 2024, the arrests added to an air of suspicion in Europe, where intelligence officials have warned of a growing threat from hybrid attacks in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The plot detailed by German prosecutors on Wednesday was described as a test run involving GPS trackers to scope out routes for future arson and bombing attacks. The suspects are believed to have been in contact with individuals working for Russian state institutions, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Two of the men, identified in line with German privacy laws only as Vladyslav T and Daniil B, were arrested over the weekend in Germany. Another, identified as Yevhen B, was taken into custody on Tuesday in Switzerland. 'We know that Russia is trying to destabilise Western democracies by all means - including targeted sabotage and perfidious intelligence methods. Our security authorities ... are keeping a close eye on this threat,' German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said in a statement on the arrests. Last summer, a series of parcels blew up at depots in Britain, Germany and Poland. Security officials later said the parcels were part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the US. Russia denied any involvement. Those 2024 incidents were reported to have prompted then-president Joe Biden's White House to contact the Kremlin directly to tell it to stop such activity. Under Biden's successor Donald Trump, the US has since pulled back from coordinated efforts to counter alleged Russian sabotage. German prosecutors declined to comment on any connection between the latest case and the incidents of last summer. They did not specify whether the two parcels sent by the Ukrainian suspects were intended for air or overland transport. The three Ukrainian nationals had prepared two 'test parcels' containing GPS trackers to be sent from Cologne in western Germany in late March after telling one or more Russian state actors that they were prepared to carry out attacks, according to the prosecutors' statement. Investigators believe the parcels were intended to scout out possible routes. The Swiss Justice Ministry said Germany had requested extradition of the suspect arrested in Switzerland, but declined to give further details. Last year, authorities warned businesses of the threat and logistics firm DHL took measures to protect its network following several fires at its warehouse in the eastern German city of Leipzig. Thomas Haldenwang, head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, told a parliamentary committee in October that the country had only narrowly escaped a plane crash when an air freight parcel caught fire.
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Germany arrests three for plotting Russian 'sabotage' bomb attacks
Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of acting as agents for Russia in a plot involving parcel bombs, German prosecutors said on Wednesday. The men are suspected of being secret agents for the purpose of sabotage and agreeing to commit arson and bring about an explosion, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Apparently working at the behest of people acting for Russia, the suspects planned to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, with the devices designed to detonate during freight transport, according to the prosecutors. Two of the men — identified only as Vladyslav T and Daniil B in line with German privacy rules — were arrested in different parts of Germany on Friday and Saturday respectively. The third man — identified as Yevhen B — was arrested on Tuesday in the northern Thurgau region of neighbouring Switzerland. The suspects are accused of telling "one or more people suspected to be acting on behalf of Russian state agencies" around March that they were prepared to carry out attacks on freight transport in Germany, prosecutors said. The alleged plan was for the men to send packages that would explode while being transported to Ukraine. One of the suspects — Vladyslav T — sent two "test packages" in Cologne at the end of March that contained GPS trackers to scope out possible means of transport, according to prosecutors. He was allegedly tasked with doing so by Yevhen B, who is accused of providing the contents of the packages via Daniil B. Berlin has been closely monitoring the threat of sabotage plots by Moscow following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Experts told Euronews that the alleged plot could be an example of hybrid warfare from Russia, which combines conventional military operations with a range of non-military tactics in a bid to achieve its strategic objectives while ensuring plausible deniability. "The goal is to exploit an adversary's vulnerabilities in multiple areas to create ambiguity," said Olha Danchenkova, co-founder of Ukraine-based communications agency Calibrated and PR Army, an NGO. "These tactics include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion (such as dependence on oil and gas), diplomatic pressure, the weaponisation of migrants (as in Belarus), corruption, interfering in elections and the use of proxy forces," she told Euronews. Ihor Solovei, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, told Euronews that the arsenal of hybrid aggression includes a wide range of instruments, including disinformation. "Here's an example: in 2022, Russia captured Mariupol using traditional methods of warfare — artillery, armoured vehicles, aviation and infantry. It was a classic military operation," he said. "Years earlier, in 2014, Russia captured Donetsk using hybrid warfare methods. As a result of information and propaganda operations, part of the local population turned against the central government."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany arrests 3 Ukrainian nationals in alleged Russian parcel bomb plot
May 14 (UPI) -- German authorities Wednesday said they arrested three pro-Russian Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of plotting to send parcel bombs on German freight transport. Russia's government was behind the plot. German federal prosecutors said the two men and one woman, identified as Vladyslav T, Daniil B and Yevhen B, allegedly planned to send parcel bombs meant to explode during transit. "The individuals had agreed, no later than the end of March 2025, to carry out arson and bomb attacks on freight transport in Germany -- acting on behalf of Russian state authorities," North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul said at a press conference, Reul said Russia's sabotage operations are targeting government institutions as well as "critical infrastructure, private businesses, and individual citizens." They are charged with "secret agent activity for sabotage purposes." According to the federal prosecutor's office, the suspects worked with Russian state institutions and intended to attack cargo transport with packages designed to detonate during shipment. Three different packages explosions suspected to be sabotage efforts occurred last July in Britain, Germany and Poland leading security officials to suspect Russia. British MI6 head Richard Moore warned in November that Russia was behind what he called "a staggeringly reckless" sabotage campaign in Europe.
Miami Herald
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Germany arrests 3 Ukrainian nationals in alleged Russian parcel bomb plot
May 14 (UPI) -- German authorities Wednesday said they arrested three pro-Russian Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of plotting to send parcel bombs on German freight transport. Russia's government was behind the plot. German federal prosecutors said the two men and one woman, identified as Vladyslav T, Daniil B and Yevhen B, allegedly planned to send parcel bombs meant to explode during transit. "The individuals had agreed, no later than the end of March 2025, to carry out arson and bomb attacks on freight transport in Germany -- acting on behalf of Russian state authorities," North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul said at a press conference, Reul said Russia's sabotage operations are targeting government institutions as well as "critical infrastructure, private businesses, and individual citizens." They are charged with "secret agent activity for sabotage purposes." According to the federal prosecutor's office, the suspects worked with Russian state institutions and intended to attack cargo transport with packages designed to detonate during shipment. Three different packages explosions suspected to be sabotage efforts occurred last July in Britain, Germany and Poland leading security officials to suspect Russia. British MI6 head Richard Moore warned in November that Russia was behind what he called "a staggeringly reckless" sabotage campaign in Europe. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
German police arrest three men over alleged Russian parcel bomb plot
Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested over an alleged Russian sabotage plot to mail exploding parcels from Germany to Ukraine. It follows high-profile cases of parcels detonating at European transport depots last year and numerous other suspected Russian sabotage attempts across the continent. Intelligence officials have in recent years warned of a growing threat from hybrid attacks in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, German prosecutors released details of the alleged plot, in which the three men sent two parcels in late March. Authorities said it was a test run involving GPS trackers to scope out routes for future arson and bombing attacks. The suspects are believed to have been in contact with individuals working for Russian state institutions, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Two of the men, identified in line with German privacy laws only as Vladyslav T and Daniil B, were arrested over the weekend in Germany. Another, identified as Yevhen B, was taken into custody on Tuesday in Switzerland. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrests. "We know that Russia is trying to destabilise Western democracies by all means — including targeted sabotage and perfidious intelligence methods," German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said in a statement on the arrests. "Our security authorities … are keeping a close eye on this threat." Last summer, a series of parcels blew up at depots in the UK, Germany and Poland. Security officials later said the parcels were part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States. Russia denied any involvement. German prosecutors declined to comment on any connection between the latest case and the incidents of last summer. They did not specify whether the two parcels sent by the Ukrainian suspects were intended for air or overland transport. The three Ukrainian nationals had prepared two "test parcels" containing GPS trackers to be sent from Cologne in western Germany in late March after telling one or more Russian state actors that they were prepared to carry out attacks, according to the prosecutors' statement. Investigators believe the parcels were intended to scout out possible routes. The Swiss Justice Ministry said Germany had requested extradition of the suspect arrested in Switzerland, but declined to give further details. This alleged plot is part of a wider accusation by European nations of Russian sabotage, which western intelligence services link to European support for Ukraine. On the weekend, Polish authorities alleged Russian government institutions were behind a Warsaw shopping centre fire which broke out in May last year. Russian involvement is also suspected in another shopping centre fire at an IKEA in Lithuania. It has also been accused of severing undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. ABC/Reuters
