Germany charges two Ukrainians over alleged Russian-ordered parcel bomb plot
Prosecutors say suspects planned to test shipping routes before sending incendiary devices aimed at undermining public security.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — German federal prosecutors said on Tuesday they have charged two Ukrainian nationals with plotting to send explosive parcels from Germany to parts of Ukraine, alleging the operation was directed by a Russian intelligence service as part of a broader sabotage campaign.
The suspects, identified as Daniil B. and Vladyslav T., are accused of working with a third man, Yevhen B., to dispatch two parcels from the western city of Cologne to Ukraine. According to prosecutors, the packages were fitted with GPS trackers and were intended to map shipping routes and transport procedures used by a parcel delivery company.
“The purpose of this action was to investigate shipping routes and transport procedures at the parcel service provider and later to send parcels containing incendiary devices,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Authorities allege that instructions for the operation were issued by a Russian intelligence service through intermediaries based in Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city seized by Russian forces in May 2022.
The ultimate aim, prosecutors said, was to ignite explosive parcels either in Germany or elsewhere en route to Ukrainian territory not occupied by Russia.
“Such parcels were to be ignited in Germany or elsewhere on their way to parts of Ukraine not occupied by Russia and cause as much damage as possible to undermine the population’s sense of security,” the statement said, adding that all three men had agreed to participate in the deliveries.
Vladyslav T. and Daniil B. were arrested in May in the German cities of Cologne and Konstanz, respectively. They have been charged with espionage for the purpose of sabotage and conspiracy to commit aggravated arson.
Yevhen B., who was detained in May in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, was extradited to Germany in December and is expected to face charges in the coming weeks.
Germany, Kyiv’s second-largest military supporter after the United States, has heightened security measures amid growing concerns over sabotage and espionage activities allegedly directed from Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In December, an Armenian, a Ukrainian, and a Russian went on trial in Germany, accused of surveilling a former Ukrainian soldier on behalf of a Russian intelligence service as part of a suspected assassination plot.
In a separate case, a Munich court in October sentenced a German-Russian dual national to six years in prison for spying for Moscow and planning sabotage operations aimed at undermining Germany’s support for Ukraine.
German media have also reported that Western intelligence agencies suspect Russia of being behind a plot linked to parcel explosions at DHL logistics facilities in Germany and Britain in July 2024, further fueling concerns about covert attacks targeting critical infrastructure across Europe.