German police arrest two suspected of spying for Russia

German prosecutors have said that police in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth had arrested two men on suspicion of spying for Russia.

The two are accused, among other things, of acting as agents for sabotage purposes and of preparing explosives, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced in Karlsruhe, according to DW.

Federal police arrested Dieter S. and Alexander J. and, along with Bavarian state police, searched the defendants' homes and workplaces.

The men were said to have scouted out potential attack targets, including US military bases in Germany.

Dieter S., who prosecutors say was in contact with a Russian secret service agent, is also charged with conspiring to cause an explosion and arson.

The accused is said to have been exchanging ideas with the agent since October 2023 about possible sabotage action.

The actions were intended, in particular, to undermine the military support provided by Germany to Ukraine.

The suspect allegedly told the operative that he was prepared to carry out attacks on infrastructure used by the military as well as industrial sites in Germany. Dieter S. had collected information about potential attack targets. He had scouted out some of the targeted objects, taking photos and videos of, for example, military transports and goods.

He is then said to have passed the collected information to his handler. Suspect Alexander J. is accused of helping him from March 2024 at the latest.

He is also accused of membership of a foreign terrorist organization based on a "strong suspicion" that he was a fighter for an armed unit of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine between December 2014 and September 2016.