Three German-Russian dual citizens were convicted Oct. 30, 2025, in a Munich court on charges stemming from a plot to spy for Russia on U.S. military bases in Bavaria and attack American service members in response to U.S. support for Ukraine. (Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — A German man who prosecutors said was the ringleader of a spying trio that plotted attacks on American service members in Bavaria over U.S. support for Ukraine was handed a six-year prison sentence.
The man, identified only as Dieter S. in accordance with German privacy laws, was convicted Thursday in a Munich court of membership in a foreign terrorist group, preparation for a serious act of violence against the state, intelligence activities and spying for the purpose of sabotage.
Two accomplices, Alexander J. and Alex D., received 18-month suspended sentences with probation for their convictions on charges related to illegal intelligence gathering. All three are dual German-Russian nationals and were accused of spying for Russia.
“All three defendants denied the charges,” Laurent Lafleur, a spokesman for the Higher Regional Court in Munich, said in a statement Thursday after a five-judge panel found the men guilty. “The court found (their) explanations completely refuted by the evidence.”
The men had surveilled U.S. military facilities, including the Army training area in Grafenwoehr, with the intention of disrupting the logistical support provided by NATO to Ukraine, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported previously.
The high-profile saga began on April 17, 2024, when Dieter S. and Alexander J. were arrested by German special police in the town of Bayreuth, the German federal prosecutor’s office said at the time.
Alex D. was arrested later, and the circumstances behind his detention remain unclear.
Tower Barracks is located about 20 miles southeast of Bayreuth. Ukrainian soldiers receive combined arms and weapons training at the base.
The convictions and sentencing came a day before the first of two incidents of drone activity was reported over Kleine-Brogel Air Base in Belgium, an incident the country’s defense minister called an act of espionage.
The base is believed to host U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing agreements.
“They come to spy, to see where the F-16s are, where the munitions are, and other highly strategic things,” Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken told a CNN affiliate.
In the Bavaria case, the evidentiary portion of the trial lasted 27 trial days. Prosecutors said Dieter S. became acquainted with a Russian intelligence agent while battling Ukrainian forces in 2014 as a member of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the statement.
After returning home to Germany, he began exchanging information with the agent in September 2023 about the possibility of committing acts of sabotage for payment and scouted potential targets, the court statement said.
Dieter S. told his handler he was willing to carry out bomb and arson attacks against military and industrial sites. He also promised to attack railway lines used to move military equipment, a previous statement from the German federal prosecutor’s office said.
Alexander J. and Alex D. began helping in March 2024, the previous statement said, adding that Dieter S. passed on photos and videos of military transports and goods to his Russian handler.
The involvement of Alexander J. and Alex D. was confirmed by the analysis of their electronic devices and Telegram communications, according to Thursday’s statement.
Either side has a week to appeal the decision to the Federal Court of Justice, the statement said.
Stars and Stripes reporter Marcus Kloeckner contributed to this report.
