Germany charges three people with spying for Russia, potentially with intent to kill

[Pelican Press 0]

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Germany charges three people with spying for Russia, potentially with intent to kill

BERLIN, Germany (AP) — Three people in Germany were charged with working for one of Russia’s intelligence agencies and could have been plotting to kill a man, the ******* Federal Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday.

The three men arrested in the “particularly serious case” on June 19, 2024 in Frankfurt were identified as Robert A., a Ukrainian citizen; Vardges I., an Armenian national; and Arman S., a Russian citizen. Their full names weren’t released in line with ******* privacy rules.

“The spying operation presumably served to prepare further intelligence operations in Germany, possibly even leading to killing,” the ******* Federal Prosecutor’s Office said.

******* prosecutors said at the beginning of May 2024, Vardges I. received an order from a Russian intelligence agency to spy on a man living in Germany who fought in Ukraine’s armed forces after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

To do this, Vardges I. recruited Robert A. and Arman S., who are accused of trying to lure the man to a meeting in a cafe in downtown Frankfurt with the aim of identifying him and gathering further information about him. Because the man had previously been in touch with ******* police, no meeting ever took place, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said, adding that the three men remain in custody.

The charges against the men, filed May 16, are the latest in a series of cases across Europe where Ukrainians and other nationals are accused of working on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services.

In May, ******* prosecutors said

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on suspicion of agreeing to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, apparently at the behest of people acting for Russia.

In April 2024, two

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on suspicion of espionage, one of them accused of agreeing to carry out attacks on potential targets including U.S. military facilities in hopes of sabotaging aid

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, prosecutors said.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging

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ranging from arson and sabotage to cyberattacks and espionage since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has previously been accused of trying to kill people in Germany who have a connection to the war in Ukraine.

In July 2024, Western officials said

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, CEO of

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which provides weapons to Ukraine.

In 2019, a Russian national, Vadim Krasikov, was convicted in Germany of killing a Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya. Krasikov was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in 2024.

At his sentencing, ******* judges said Krasikov had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and the resources to carry out the killing.

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