German court convicts Ukrainian man over Russian sabotage plot

A German court sentenced a Ukrainian man to one year and three months in prison for spying for Russia and preparing for potential acts of sabotage. The Stuttgart court acquitted two other Ukrainian men in the same case. The plot involved placing GPS tracker-laden packages in Ukraine in March 2024 to assess the potential for disrupting transportation and infrastructure.

The accused, Yevhen Bezchasnyi, 30, was apprehended in Switzerland in May 2025 and extradited to Germany in December. He was found guilty of spying for sabotage purposes, though time already served in pre-trial detention will be credited toward his sentence, leading to his eventual release. Germany, Ukraine's primary ally in its ongoing war against Russia, remains vigilant against possible sabotage and espionage from Moscow.

Recently, an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, an important hub for military equipment delivery. The court found Bezchasnyi was acting on behalf of a friend from Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that has been under Russian control since the start of Russia's invasion. The court ruled that he organized the shipment of GPS trackers in two packages, which also contained spare car parts.

Bezchasnyi then passed the trackers to a 22-year-old defendant in Konstanz, who forwarded them to Cologne, and the 25-year-old defendant sent them to Ukraine via a Ukrainian shipping service provider. However, the court could not prove that the other two defendants were aware their actions were part of a sabotage conspiracy. Also, there was insufficient evidence to show they conspired to set off explosive devices, as previously claimed by prosecutors.

These allegations echo a 2024 plot where homemade explosive-incendiary devices were mailed from Lithuania to various European locations, causing explosions at DHL facilities in the UK and Leipzig. Ten suspects faced trial over this scheme in separate proceedings in Poland and Lithuania. European intelligence agencies suspect Russia was responsible for orchestrating the scheme.