Trial of three suspects in preparation of sabotage acts ordered by Russia begins in Bavaria

A trial in the case of three people who are believed to have been recruited by Russian agents to prepare sabotage in Germany begins in Bavaria, Germany.

As reported by Tagesschau, a German TV news service, the trial of three suspects, whom the prosecutor's office considers to be "grassroots" agents recruited by the Russian Federation to prepare sabotage in Germany, is beginning in the Higher Land Court of Munich.

The main defendant is a man named Dieter, who is being tried in another case in parallel for joining one of the units of the so-called "Donetsk People’s Republic" from 2014 to 2016. In that case, he is accused of membership in a terrorist organisation.

The investigation believes that since then, Dieter has been in contact with a person connected to Russian intelligence. Since October 2023, he has been receiving instructions on how to organise sabotage in Germany.

Dieter is believed to have engaged two other perpetrators, Alexander and Alex.

The prosecutor's office accuses Dieter of agreeing to arrange explosions and arson attacks on military infrastructure and industrial facilities in Germany and that he had already begun taking photos and videos of the targets and sending this information to the customer.

In particular, the target was to be a railway line, which is often used by echelons of military aid for Ukraine. They also planned to target a defence industry enterprise near Bayreuth in eastern Germany.

Dieter and Alexander were detained in April 2024. Dieter has been in custody since then, and Alexander was later released with a number of restrictions. Alex has not been taken into custody.

Earlier in May, German media outlets reported on the arrests in Germany and Switzerland of individuals who were allegedly supposed to send parcels with explosive devices on behalf of Russian special services. The suspects are Ukrainians.

The Latvian secret service recently published advice on how to identify possible spies and saboteurs.