The two men, who also have German nationality, were arrested in Bayreuth, a town in the Bavaria region. They are accused of having carried out scouting for potential targets for attacks, including installations of the U.S.
armed forces in Germany. The main accused, Dieter S., had been exchanging information with a person linked to Russian intelligence services since October 2023 with a view to possible acts of sabotage on German territory. Germany has been shaken by several cases of alleged espionage on behalf of Russia since the invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022. A former German secret agent is currently on trial in Berlin for having transmitted information to a terrorist group in the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2016. The actions were aimed in particular at undermining Germany's military support for Ukraine, prosecutors said.