Three Russian-German men accused of spying for the Kremlin

The Federal Prosecutor in Germany has indicted three Russian-German men who’ve allegedly spied on military facilities and weapons factories for Russia.

The suspects are 40 year old Dieter S., 38 year old Alexander J., and 43 year old Alex D., who are all residents of the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the goal of the suspects was to undermine Germany’s military support for Ukraine.

Allegedly, they were spying on military installations and railway tracks, including US military training area Grafenwöhr, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained, a location where armaments are produced, and a loading station in Parsberg which handles military transports.

In addition, the suspects had plans to sabotage military-used infrastructure in Germany through explosives or arson.

German authorities launched their investigation in April 2024, following the arrests of Dieter S. and Alexander J. At the time, authorities claimed that Dieter S. had fought for a Russian armed group in Eastern Ukraine from 2014 to 2016.

Because of his affiliation with the armed Russian militia, Dieter S. was charged in October 2024 with participating in a foreign terrorist organization, specifically for his involvement in the battle for Donetsk Airport and the Ukrainian city of Marjinka.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Der Spiegel that the suspects are linked to Russian intelligence services and are accused of participating in ‘intelligence agency work’.

As of writing, the lawyers of the suspects haven’t commented on the allegations.

NATO member states have increasingly become the target of Russia-linked sabotage in recent months. For example, Russia is named as the prime suspect of the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia.

Russia is also held responsible for placing a fire bomb on a plane bound for Britain, which later caught fire in a DHL warehouse in Birmingham. In eastern Finland, three airports went back on radio navigation because GPS signals were sabotaged by Russia.

Lastly, Russia is also linked to break-ins at water treatment plants in Sweden, Finland and Germany, and accused of influencing the presidential elections in Romania.

NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General James Appathurai recently warned that Russia could cause substantial casualties or economic damage by conducting sabotage actions against NATO member states.