German court convicts Ukrainian man over Russian sabotage plot

The plot involved posting test packages containing GPS trackers in March last year to Ukraine

A German court on Tuesday handed a jail sentence of one year and three months to a Ukrainian man for spying for Russia and helping prepare possible acts of sabotage.

The court in Stuttgart acquitted two other Ukrainian men aged 22 and 25 who were on trial for the same plot, which involved posting test packages containing GPS trackers in March last year to Ukraine.

The plan was aimed at scoping out possibilities for “disrupting transport and infrastructure” and was ultimately directed by a “Russian state entity”, the court said.

Yevhen Bezchasnyi, 30, was arrested in Switzerland in May 2025 before being extradited to Germany in December.

However, the time he has already spent in pre-trial detention counted towards his sentence and he will now be released.