Brandanschläge geplant?: Haftstrafe im Prozess gegen mutmaßlichen Agenten Russlands

A young Ukrainian man has been sentenced to a year and three months in prison in Stuttgart for alleged involvement in Russian-sponsored arson attacks. The charges allege that he was prepared to carry out attacks on behalf of Russia. The court has not yet specified the target of these attacks or the specific accusations. Two other Ukrainian defendants were released by the court.

The men were arrested in Konstanz, Cologne, and the Swiss canton of Thurgau. According to federal prosecutor investigations, they were part of a sabotage plan targeting logistics companies' transport routes. They are accused of sending two packages containing GPS trackers via a Ukrainian postal service to Ukraine in March 2025. The order for this task was allegedly given by a Russian intelligence service via intermediaries from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

The next step, according to prosecutors, would have been to send packages containing burning agents that could ignite during transport and cause significant damage, impairing public security. The defendants had allegedly agreed to carry out the attacks, but did so during the preparation phase, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors sought prison sentences ranging from two years and nine months to four years and three months for the defendants, while their attorneys requested acquittals.

The case recalls a 2024 incident where a cargo package at a DHL logistics center in Leipzig caught fire, raising concerns that it may have been placed on purpose by Russian forces. This narrowly avoided a potential plane crash. German Federal Commissioner for Constitution Protection Thomas Haldenwang attributed the incident to a stroke of luck that the package did not ignite during flight.

Earlier this month, a drone loaded with explosives and a trigger was discovered near Leipzig Airport, and a plane collided with an unknown smaller object, possibly another drone. Prosecutors are investigating potential charges of attempting to trigger a bomb explosion and endangering air traffic. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) described the threat as a "hybrid" attack by foreign powers.