German authorities charge Ukrainian national with preparing sabotage on behalf of Russia

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany has brought charges against Ukrainian citizen Yevhen B., who is suspected of espionage and sabotage activities on behalf of Russian intelligence services.

This was reported in a press release by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“On January 22, 2026, the Federal Prosecutor's Office filed charges before the State Security Senate of the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart against the Ukrainian national Yevhen B. The accused is sufficiently suspected of espionage for sabotage purposes (§ 87 para. 1 no. 1 and 2, para. 2 no. 1 of the German Criminal Code) and of conspiracy to commit serious arson (§ 30 in conjunction with § 306a para. 1 no. 3 of the German Criminal Code),” the press release stated.

According to the investigation, at the end of March 2025, the suspect, together with two accomplices from Cologne, sent packages to Ukraine containing activated GPS trackers.

The prosecutor’s office stated that these actions were carried out on the orders of a Russian intelligence service, transmitted via intermediaries in Mariupol. The purpose was to study postal routes and logistics for subsequent shipment of packages with incendiary devices. It was intended that the packages would ignite during transportation in Germany or en route to Ukrainian territories not occupied by Russia, aiming to cause significant harm and undermine public safety.

It was noted that Yevhen B. involved two other Ukrainian citizens, Danylo B. and Vladyslav T., providing them with GPS trackers and other materials. He also promised Russian intelligence services that he would personally organize the shipment of packages with incendiary devices.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, on December 23, 2025, Switzerland extradited Yevhen B. to Germany. He is one of three suspects in preparing sabotage operations on behalf of Russia. The suspect was arrested on May 13 in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland.

He is accused of spying for Russia. He and two other men, also Ukrainian citizens, planned attacks on cargo shipments in Germany on orders from Russian intelligence. All three have been arrested – Yevhen B. in Switzerland, and the other two in Cologne and Konstanz – and remain in custody.