Ukrainian Citizen Convicted of Espionage in Germany
An individual from Ukraine was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to one year and three months in prison by a German court. The charges were tied to sending packages containing GPS trackers to Ukraine in March 2025 via a Ukrainian postal service. Two other Ukrainian citizens involved were acquitted by the Stuttgart Regional High Court, according to Germany’s dpa news agency.
The names of those involved were not released, adhering to German privacy laws. The men were detained last year in Germany and Switzerland. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office suggested their involvement in a sabotage plan targeting transport routes, reported dpa.
The presiding judge declared that the convicted man had arranged for the shipment of two packages with GPS transmitters from Germany. He recognized the potential of these packages in aiding espionage for sabotage purposes. It was acknowledged that the man received his orders from an intermediary linked to a Russian government agency, as stated by the judge and reported by dpa.
The federal prosecution suspected a Russian intelligence service delivered these orders via intermediaries from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The mission was to gather intelligence on the transportation routes and methods of the postal service. Investigators indicated the plan was for the accused to further send packages that could activate during transit. These packages aimed to ignite in Germany or elsewhere en route to non-Russian occupied parts of Ukraine, intending to undermine public security.
The prosecution claimed the three men agreed to send such packages. However, they were uncovered in the attack’s preparatory stages. The court did not find any concrete sabotage plans. The sentenced man will not serve jail time, as his sentence was satisfied during pre-trial detention.
In a related 2024 case, Western security officials suspected Russian intelligence of attempting to place incendiary devices in cargo-bound packages to North America. These devices reportedly ignited at a messaging hub in Germany and a warehouse in England.