2024-04-18 17:12:41
EThe federal government is concerned with a new case of suspected Russian espionage: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) therefore summoned the Russian ambassador to Berlin on Thursday. The federal government was reacting to the arrest of two suspected Russian agents.
Moscow responded with a denial. “No evidence was presented about the plans of those arrested or their possible connection to representatives of Russian structures,” said the statement from the Russian embassy in Berlin. The allegations are “absurd and ridiculous”.
According to the Federal Prosecutor General, the two Russian-Germans Dieter S. and Alexander J., who were picked up by officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office at two different locations in the Bayreuth area, were planning sabotage actions. These were intended in particular to “undermine the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression”. First he had „Spiegel“ reported on the arrests.
Both men are strongly suspected of having worked for a foreign secret service in a particularly serious case, the federal prosecutor’s office said. According to the information, the men who were born in Russia both have German and Russian citizenship. Investigators searched their homes and places of work.
Dieter S. is also accused of conspiring to cause an explosive explosion and arson, acting as an agent for sabotage purposes and depicting military installations that endanger the security, membership in a foreign terrorist organization and preparing a serious act of violence that endangers the state.
There is also a strong suspicion that Dieter S. was in eastern Ukraine between December 2014 and September 2016 as a fighter in an armed unit “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“VRD”) and had a firearm in this context.
According to further information, one of the accused had contacts with a Russian secret service through an intermediary. Both had planned acts of sabotage that were intended to “undermine the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression.”
US military training area in sight
One of the spied objects is said to be a… Establishment of the US Army in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria have acted. There is, among other things, an important military training area where the US Army trains Ukrainian soldiers, for example on Abrams main battle tanks.
According to the Federal Prosecutor General, Dieter S. is in contact with a person who is linked to a Russian secret service. The accused had been communicating with this person since October 2023 about possible sabotage actions in the Federal Republic of Germany.
US military training area Grafenwöhr: Ukrainians are trained on Abrams tanks
Source: dpa/Armin Weigel
The actions were intended in particular to undermine the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression. Against this background, the accused declared to his interlocutor that he was prepared to carry out explosives and arson attacks, especially on infrastructure used by the military and industrial sites in Germany.
In preparation for this, Dieter S. collected information about potential attack targets, including US military facilities. Alexander J. helped him from March 2024 at the latest. Dieter S. scouted out some of the targeted objects on site, taking photos and videos, for example of military transport and goods. He passed on the information he had collected to the person he was talking to.
Dieter S. was brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice on Wednesday, who ordered the execution of the pre-trial detention, it was said from Karlsruhe. Alexander J. should be brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice on Thursday.
Faeser: “Should undermine our military aid to Ukraine”
Politicians from the traffic light government and the Union reacted with outrage to the alleged espionage case. “We can never accept that such espionage activities take place in Germany,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Brussels. “That’s why we have our own defense mechanisms to detect them.” This always works. The Chancellor further spoke of “a high demand that we have to place on our security organs”.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) explained: “Our security authorities have prevented possible explosive attacks that were intended to target and undermine our military aid to Ukraine.” And further: “It is a particularly serious case of suspected spy activity for Putin’s criminal regime,” she added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Since Russia’s murderous war of aggression against Ukraine, our security authorities have increased all protective measures against hybrid threats from the Russian regime,” emphasized the SPD politician and added: “We will continue to provide massive support to Ukraine and will not allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After the arrests became known, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) said: “We know that the Russian power apparatus is also targeting our country – we must respond to this threat defensively and decisively.”
The suspicion of sabotage is “another very serious and highly alarming incident,” explained the deputy Green party leader in the Bundestag, Konstantin von Notz. “In the future, Germany must make itself much more robust, resilient and defensive,” he demanded.
The CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter said “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the alleged espionage case is probably just the tip of the iceberg. “Germany is a main target for Russian influence and espionage operations.” On the one hand, it is about undermining support for Ukraine. “On the other hand, the overall mood of the population should be influenced by disinformation,” said Kiesewetter.
The police union (GdP) spoke out in favor of strengthening civil-military cooperation. What is required is not only a close exchange of information between decision-makers in the police and military, but also “the creation of joint situation reports, scenario solutions and concrete emergency plans”.
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