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German prosecutors confirm they have two suspected Russian agents in custody

According to prosecutors, Dieter S. asserted his readiness to carry out attacks, above all, against military infrastructure, but also industrial facilities

BERLIN, April 18. /TASS/. Germany’s Office of the Federal Prosecutor has confirmed that it has taken two men into custody on suspicion of clandestine intelligence activities for Russia, according to a statement published on the agency’s website.

The two detainees, who are described as "dual German-Russian nationals" are suspected of working for foreign intelligence. One of them, Dieter S., is also suspected of "plotting an explosion, arson, espionage aiming to carry out acts of sabotage and obtaining security-threatening images of military facilities." According to the agency, he "was maintaining contact with an individual connected to Russian intelligence," and since October 2023, they have been purportedly discussing carrying out potential acts of sabotage in Germany, allegedly meant to undermine the country’s effort on military aid to Ukraine.

According to prosecutors, Dieter S. asserted his readiness to carry out attacks, above all, against military infrastructure, but also industrial facilities. He was purportedly gathering information about potential targets, including US military bases on German soil. The other detainee, Alexander J., joined him in March 2024. Dieter S. was photographing and filming the movements of military equipment and transportation of military goods, allegedly passing the information on to his contact.

The prosecutor’s office claims that from December 2014 to September 2016, Dieter S. fought with one of the units of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Due to this, he is being suspected of being part of an international terrorist organization as well as of plotting a violent crime threatening national security.

The operation to detain the two was held earlier in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Currently, both are being held at a pre-trial detention facility.

On Thursday, Der Spiegel reported the arrest. According to it, the military objects under observation included a US Army facility in Grafenwohr which includes a large proving ground where, among other things, the US trains Ukrainian troops to use Abrams tanks.

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