Germany indicts Ukrainian national over alleged Russian-backed sabotage plot
Germany has indicted a Ukrainian national in connection with an alleged Russia-orchestrated plot to mail explosive parcels across Europe, Reuters reported on Feb. 9, citing German prosecutors.
The suspect, identified as Yevhen B., was detained in Switzerland in May 2025 and extradited to Germany in December.
He and two other Ukrainians, Vladyslav T. and Daniil B., are suspected of sending parcels containing GPS trackers from Cologne in Germany to Ukraine in March 2025 to map logistics routes for future sabotage attacks on behalf of Russian intelligence.
The routes would then be used to dispatch incendiary devices, which would ignite in Germany or somewhere along the way in Ukraine, German prosecutors said, according to Reuters.
The news comes amid Western warnings about Moscow's escalating hybrid warfare targeting European countries, aimed at sowing chaos and disrupting support for Ukraine.
Authorities say Russian intelligence services often recruit Ukrainian nationals for sabotage operations, offering quick cash in return.
In January, Poland charged four Ukrainians and a Russian citizen for allegedly planning to send incendiary devices and explosives to various Western countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Lithuania.
Russia is believed to be responsible for a fire that broke out in July 2024 in an airport hub run by the DHL courier in Leipzig, Germany. A flammable package was reportedly sent by plane from Lithuania and marked for delivery to a fake address in Birmingham, U.K.
