German court convicts Ukrainian man over alleged Russian-linked sabotage scouting
A Stuttgart court sentenced a Ukrainian man over shipments it said were used to scout potential sabotage targets for a Russian state entity.
Stuttgart, Germany. A German court convicted a 30-year-old Ukrainian man on Tuesday of acting as an agent for sabotage after finding that he helped organise shipments intended to scout potential targets for a Russian state entity.
The Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart sentenced him to one year and three months in prison, but said he would not be jailed because his pre-trial detention was considered to have covered the sentence.
Shipments and allegations
The court said three Ukrainians were involved in sending two parcels containing GPS trackers and spare car parts from Germany to Ukraine through a Ukrainian parcel service.
According to the court, the operation was initiated by an unnamed Russian state entity and was intended to assess possible opportunities for future sabotage acts designed to cause damage and undermine public confidence in security.
The convicted man intentionally participated in scouting potential sabotage targets, the court said. At the request of an acquaintance from Russian-occupied Mariupol, he organised the shipment of GPS trackers that transmitted location data during transport from Germany to Ukraine.
Other defendants acquitted
The two other Ukrainian defendants were acquitted because there was insufficient evidence that they knowingly took part in a plot to carry out such attacks.
Court spokesperson Lars Kemner said the sentence reflected, among other factors, that the defendant’s actions occurred well before any actual sabotage was carried out.
Russian response
The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
European governments have accused Moscow of conducting a sustained campaign of sabotage as part of what they describe as a hybrid war against countries supporting Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Russia has repeatedly described such allegations as groundless.
Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city on the Sea of Azov, was devastated during the early months of the war and fell to Russian forces in May 2022. The city has since been targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes.
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