Two Suspected Spies Arrested in Germany for Espionage and Terrorism Charges

Two suspected spies have been arrested in Germany. They are said to have spied on American installations in Russia and planned attacks on military transport routes. They wanted to block German aid to Ukraine.

Special police forces arrested the two suspects in the city of Bayreuth in the state of Bavaria. The main suspect is 39-year-old Dieter S. He holds German and Russian citizenship and came to the attention of the authorities because he fought for the “Donetsk People’s Republic” against Ukraine between 2014 and 2016.

Since last October, Dieter S. had been in contact with someone connected to the Russian secret service. According to the German Public Prosecution Service, comments were made about sabotage in Germany. It is said that S. agreed to set fires and carry out explosive attacks on military infrastructure and weapons factories.

In preparation, he gathered information about possible targets, including US Army facilities. The second suspect, 37-year-old German-Russian Alexander J., helped him with that survey.

The two took pictures of the transport of weapons and goods. According to the weekly magazine Der Spiegel, this included military facilities in Grafenwöhr, a town in Bavaria. There is a training area there where the US army trains Ukrainian soldiers, including on Abrams battle tanks.

Prosecutors are accusing the two men of espionage. Dieter S. is also suspected of being a member of a foreign terrorist group, working as an agent for sabotage purposes and displaying military resources in a way that endangers security.

The Kremlin and the Russian embassy in Berlin say they have not received information about the arrests and therefore cannot comment. The German newspaper Bild reports that the German Foreign Ministry has now summoned the Russian ambassador to explain the matter.