Conflict & Security
Germany arrests Ukrainian suspected of arms maker spying
German police said Thursday they had arrested a 33-year-old Ukrainian man suspected of filming a Bavarian arms manufacturer in preparation for acts of sabotage.
Police in Bavaria said the man was arrested on August 2 in Thuringia state. They said he is suspected of acting as a “low-level agent” on behalf of an intelligence service of a foreign power.
Police said he is believed to have taken images of the company in June and offered them to his handlers. He has been remanded in custody while awaiting trial.
The investigation is being carried out under a new national centre opened in June to coordinate defences against “hybrid attacks”. German officials say the centre is part of the country’s response to a growing threat of sabotage, espionage and disinformation campaigns, particularly from Russia.
On Wednesday, an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a “hybrid attack scenario” and said it signalled “a new level of danger”.
Update
The man has been remanded in custody while awaiting trial.
Bavarian police said he is believed to have taken images of the company in June and offered them to his handlers.
The investigation is being handled under a new national centre coordinating defences against hybrid attacks.
Germany's interior minister separately described an explosives-laden drone found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport as a hybrid attack scenario.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 August 2026 at 09:03:15 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The suspect has not been identified in the supplied information.
The foreign intelligence service allegedly involved was not named.
The case remains at the suspicion stage before trial.
Source
AFP news report published on .