Ukrainian convicted in Germany over Russian sabotage plot

A German court sentenced Ukrainian man Yevhen Bezchasnyi to one year and three months in jail on Tuesday for spying for Russia and helping prepare possible acts of sabotage.

The court in Stuttgart found the 30-year-old guilty of spying for the purposes of sabotage. Time he has already spent in pre-trial detention counts toward the sentence, and he will now be released.

The court acquitted two other Ukrainian men, aged 22 and 25, who were tried over the same plot. It said prosecutors had not proved that they knew their actions were part of a sabotage plan.

The case involved posting test packages containing GPS trackers to Ukraine in March last year. The court said the plan was aimed at scoping out possibilities for “disrupting transport and infrastructure” and was ultimately directed by a “Russian state entity”.

The court said Bezchasnyi acted on behalf of an acquaintance from Russian-occupied Mariupol. It said he organised the shipment of GPS trackers in two packages that also included spare car parts, then involved the other two defendants in forwarding them through Konstanz and Cologne before they were sent to Ukraine.

The court said it could not find evidence that the men had conspired to commit arson by sending explosive devices, as prosecutors had alleged.

Bezchasnyi was arrested in Switzerland in May 2025 and extradited to Germany in December.

Germany is Ukraine's most important backer in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion and has been on high alert for suspected sabotage and espionage operations linked to Moscow. Earlier this month, an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, a key military equipment transport hub. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called that incident a possible hybrid attack scenario involving a foreign power, but did not name Russia.