Der Spiegel: Weapons cache near Berlin was planted by 24-year-old Ukrainian arrested in Romania

German magazine Der Spiegel, citing intelligence services, has reported that a weapons cache discovered in a forest outside Berlin — first covered by German media in August — was planted by a 24-year-old Ukrainian identified as Vadym S. The magazine said he was part of a group carrying out preparations for sabotage operations in European countries under instructions from Russian intelligence.

Polish law enforcement, which had been tracking the man's movements, established that on October 1, 2025, he traveled by bus from Poland to Berlin, collected two packages there, and hid them in the forest cache. When investigators later opened the cache, they found the packages contained two pistols and ammunition.

After Berlin, the man returned to Poland before soon traveling on to Romania. He was arrested in Bucharest on October 16 after leaving two packages containing incendiary devices at a branch of the Ukrainian delivery company Nova Poshta.

A second Ukrainian man was detained alongside him, Der Spiegel reported, though following German media convention it did not fully identify either man. The independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo found records showing two Ukrainians were arrested in Romania on October 16, 2025: 24-year-old Vadym Shcherbakov and 21-year-old Bohdan Filipchuk.

Romanian outlet Libertatea reported in June that Russian intelligence services had overseen the attempted firebombing of the Nova Poshta branch, and that Shcherbakov received his instructions from his uncle. Libertatea also said both men were born in the Kherson region, part of which is now occupied by Russia, and had moved to Poland in 2025.

German intelligence officials had earlier suggested the cache might have been intended for use by Russian agents conducting so-called "kinetic operations," while stressing the investigation remains ongoing.

The cache was placed under surveillance after discovery, but no one returned to retrieve it for a full year. Russia's embassy in Germany, commenting to Russian business outlet RBC, dismissed reports linking the cache to Russian intelligence as "speculation."