Three arrested over plans to carry out acts of sabotage in Germany

German authorities have arrested three men on suspicion of planning arson and explosive attacks on railway freight transport in Germany on behalf of Russia, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The suspects are said to have told several persons allegedly commissioned by Russia that they were willing to carry out the acts of sabotage, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said.

German intelligence services believe Russian actors are hiring people to carry out espionage and sabotage operations across the country, with the deployment of professional spies being made increasingly difficult due to sanctions and increased vigilance amid Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Three German-Russian nationals were charged with spying for Moscow in December.

The man at the centre of the indictment is said to have discussed sabotage operations on German soil with a Russian agent and agreed to carry out explosive and arson attacks on industrial sites and infrastructure used by the military.

According to prosecutors, this was an attempt to undermine the military aid provided by Germany to Ukraine.