Attacks planned

Two Russian saboteurs arrested in Bavaria

The detainees are probably German-Russians. (symbolic image)(Bild: AFP)

Two German Russians were arrested in Bavaria on Wednesday morning. The men are apparently saboteurs in the service of Russia who, according to a media report, were planning to carry out attacks on German soil. The main targets were military transport routes.

The aim of the sabotage was to disrupt German aid to Ukraine, reports "Der Spiegel". The 39-year-old main suspect had been exchanging information with Russian liaisons about possible targets for attacks since October 2023, the magazine quotes investigators as saying.

The German-Russian is said to have agreed to carry out arson and explosive attacks on military infrastructure, defense plants and industrial sites. Together with a second person (37), he also spied on and photographed US bases in Bavaria. The corresponding image material was sent to Russian clients.

Grafenwoehr in Bavaria is home to a large US military training area.(Bild: AFP)

One of the objects spied on is said to have been a US Army facility in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria. Among other things, there is an important military training area there where the US army trains Ukrainian soldiers, for example on Abrams battle tanks.

German-Russian was known to the authorities
The federal prosecutor's office accuses the main suspect of, among other things, secret service agent activities, agent activities for sabotage purposes and the "security-endangering imaging" of military facilities. The German-Russians - who are dual nationals - are now in custody. According to "Spiegel", they were taken to Karlsruhe and brought before investigating judges at the Federal Court of Justice.

The detainees are probably German-Russians. (symbolic image)(Bild: AFP)

Federal Prosecutor General Jens Rommel confirmed on Thursday that the men are suspected of having worked for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case. They are now in custody.

The 39-year-old German-Russian is said to have belonged to a pro-Russian separatist group in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2016 and was therefore already on the radar of the security authorities.