TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - German prosecutors said on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, that they had arrested three Ukrainian citizens accused of planning sabotage attacks on cargo transportation to Russia amid escalating tensions between Moscow and Berlin.
The suspects, detained in Germany and Switzerland, had informed individuals believed to be acting on behalf of Russian state authorities that they were ready "to carry out arson and bomb attacks on cargo transportation in Germany," federal prosecutors said, as reported by Arab News.
The defendants allegedly intended to send packages from Germany containing explosive devices to recipients in Ukraine, which would detonate when in transit, they said.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 rapidly deteriorated relations, Germany has been on high alert for sabotage plans directed from Moscow.
During his speech in parliament on Wednesday, the new Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused Russia of targeting Germany and other European countries with acts ranging from cyber-attacks, espionage, and sabotage to disinformation, poisonings, and assassinations.
Such actions, "are largely the work of the Russian government and its helpers," he said, alleging that Moscow is making "efforts to divide and disrupt stability."
In the latest case on Wednesday, one of the suspects, partly identified as Vladyslav T., sent two packages in Cologne at the end of March, containing GPS trackers, prosecutors said.
The order to send them was given by Yevhen B., who provided the content of the packages through the third suspect, Daniil B.The suspects, arrested between last Friday and Tuesday, are 'strongly suspected' of acting as foreign agents for the purpose of sabotage, prosecutors said.
They are also accused of planning to carry out arson and cause explosions.Vladyslav T. and Daniil B., detained in the cities of Cologne and Konstanz in Germany, remain in custody.
Yevhen B. is detained in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland, and will face a judge after being transferred to Germany.Moscow-Berlin relations have been frosty since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the West imposed a series of punishing sanctions.
Germany, the second-largest military power in Kyiv after the United States, has been rocked by a series of alleged sabotage and espionage cases connected to Russia.
In a separate case from the arrests on Wednesday, it was recently reported that a European intelligence agency believed that Russia was behind a plan to plant explosives on cargo planes.
Several individuals involved in the operation, which led to packages exploding at two DHL depots last July, were suspected to be low-level agents hired by Moscow.
In another alleged instance of Russian interference, a former German intelligence officer was accused of passing sensitive information to Moscow while Berlin blamed Moscow for a cyber-attack on left-center SPD party members.
Russia denies involvement in the actions.
Merz has pledged to continue Germany's support for Ukraine, asserting that "there must be no doubt about our position: namely... on the side of this attacked country."
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