Russia arrests German citizen on sabotage charges

A German citizen has been arrested in Russia on Wednesday on charges of sabotage, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

State media reported that the FSB had detained a German citizen who had been allegedly involved in an explosion at a gas distribution station in Kaliningrad in March 2024.

The German Foreign Ministry said it is keeping itself informed of the case but did not have immediate comment on the allegations and the man's arrest.

A diplomatic source in Berlin told French news agency AFP that German officials had been in contact with Russian agents regarding the matter.

"Our Consulate General in St. Petersburg is in contact with the Russian authorities and has offered consular assistance," the source said.

What we know so far

The 57-year-old German was also accused of organizing "acts of sabotage on local energy infrastructure," Russian news agencies cited the FSB statement as saying.

The man, reportedly living in Hamburg, was taken into custody at the border to Kaliningrad. A search of his car uncovered half a liter of explosives, according to Russian state media reports.

He has been held in custody on charges of terrorism and smuggling explosives. Russian authorities were reportedly on the search for any possible accomplices.

Russian authorities said the man received orders from a Ukrainian to carry out an unspecified attack, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Low point in German-Russian ties

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, relations between Russia and Germany, as well as other NATO countries, reached their worst point in decades.

Russian authorities have repeatedly arrested foreign citizens on hotly disputed charges, including in several incidents that Western governments have denounced as false or trumped-up cases.

mk/sms (Reuters, AFP, dpa)