A German court convicted a Ukrainian man on Tuesday (August 18) over what prosecutors described as a plot linked to Russian intelligence to detonate parcels in Europe designed to cause damage and undermine public confidence in security.

One 30-year-old was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for acting as an agent for the purposes of sabotage. The two other defendants were acquitted due to a lack of evidence that they were knowingly involved in a plot to commit such attacks.

"The Senate is convinced that the shipment of the two packages had been commissioned by an unidentified Russian state agency. This agency used an intermediary who was in Russian-occupied Mariupol and who from there contacted the defendant, who had been extradited from Switzerland," said the spokesperson of the Higher Regional Court Stuttgart, Lars Kemmner.

Three Ukrainians were involved in sending two packages with GPS trackers and spare auto parts from Germany to Ukraine using a Ukrainian parcel service in an operation initiated by an unnamed Russian state entity. For the Russian organisers of the plot, these shipments were designed to scope out potential opportunities for future acts of sabotage.

Earlier this month, in Germany, officials found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a hybrid attack but did not assign blame. Russia has dismissed suggestions by German politicians and media that it could be responsible.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

German court convicts Ukrainian man over parcel bomb plot tied to Russia

VIDEO SHOWS: STATEMENT BY SPOKESPERSON OF HIGHER REGIONAL COURT STUTTGART, LARS KEMMNER, AND DEFENCE LAWYER (OF THE ACQUITTED DEFENDANT VLADYSLAV T)., MARTIN HEISING

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: STUTTGART, GERMANY (AUGUST 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF SPOKESPERSON OF HIGHER REGIONAL COURT STUTTGART, LARS KEMMNER, DURING PRESS STATEMENT

2. MEDIA

3. (SOUNDBITE) (German) SPOKESPERSON OF HIGHER REGIONAL COURT STUTTGART, LARS KEMMNER, SAYING:

"The Senate is convinced that the shipment of the two packages had been commissioned by an unidentified Russian state agency. This agency used an intermediary who was in Russian-occupied Mariupol and who from there contacted the defendant, who had been extradited from Switzerland."

4. STATEMENT

5. MEDIA

6. (SOUNDBITE) (German) SPOKESPERSON OF HIGHER REGIONAL COURT STUTTGART, LARS KEMMNER, SAYING:

"Among other things, the fact that the convicted defendant's actions were carried out well in advance of the actual execution of sabotage was taken into account when determining the sentence. The Senate could not establish any concrete plan on the part of the Russian client to carry out acts of sabotage in this way."

7. STATEMENT

8. DEFENCE LAWYER (OF THE ACQUITTED DEFENDANT VLADYSLAV T)., MARTIN HEISING, IN CONVERSATION WITH JOURNALIST

9. HANDS OF HEISING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DEFENCE LAWYER (OF THE ACQUITTED DEFENDANT VLADYSLAV T)., MARTIN HEISING, SAYING:

"The acquittal was the only correct outcome to be expected in this case, because, as I said from the beginning, the evidence was weak from the start. These kinds of trials are always difficult to conduct because they attract a lot of public attention. It's a politically sensitive issue. On the other side was the Federal Prosecutor General's Office. They're normally fighting tooth and nail; they do know what they're doing. We countered with the same vehemence, and we ultimately succeeded in convincing the Senate that my client is innocent."

11. HEISING DURING INTERVIEW

12. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DEFENCE LAWYER (OF THE ACQUITTED DEFENDANT VLADYSLAV T)., MARTIN HEISING, SAYING:

"It's quite possible that if you return to Ukraine, he'll face some negative consequences there. That remains to be seen. Perhaps one should also observe how things develop there beforehand. But I certainly wouldn't advise him to return to Ukraine right now. And that's what I find so terrible about this whole situation. The Federal Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against my client that were truly on very thin ice, knowing full well that this will likely ruin his future in Ukraine for the rest of his life. That's the worst part."

13. HEISING WITH JOURNALIST