German court convicts Ukrainian in Russia-directed parcel bomb plot
A court in Stuttgart convicted a Ukrainian man for acting on behalf of Russian intelligence in a parcel-bomb reconnaissance plot, as Ukraine launched one of its largest drone strikes on Russia and a Russian missile attack killed 10 people in the Kharkiv region.
A court in Stuttgart, Germany, has ruled on the case of three Ukrainian men accused of taking part in an operation directed by a Russian state entity. Two packages containing GPS trackers and spare car parts were shipped from Germany to Ukraine as part of a scheme to scout opportunities for future sabotage. A 30-year-old man was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for acting as an agent for sabotage purposes, though he had already served that time in pre-trial detention. The other two defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence they knowingly took part in an attack plot. The men have been identified only as Vladyslav T, Daniil B and Yevhen B under German privacy rules. Russia's embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
European governments have repeatedly accused Moscow of waging a 'hybrid war' against nations backing Ukraine. In 2024, parcels shipped from Lithuania exploded in Germany, Poland and Britain. This month, German officials found a drone carrying explosives near Leipzig/Halle airport, and Estonia is investigating possible Russian involvement in an arson attack on a building used by defence firm Milrem Robotics.
Political developments and frontline
Ukraine's dismissed former defence minister, Mikhail Fedorov, called for elections to be held despite the country's ongoing martial law, which currently bars them. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would hold elections if parliament approves and allies assist.
Overnight, Ukraine launched one of its largest drone strikes on Russia since the invasion began, with Russia claiming at least 791 drones were launched, over 600 of them toward Moscow. A Russian missile strike on the village of Pechenigya in the Kharkiv region killed 10 people and wounded 18 more. The IAEA reported a drone explosion near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that killed a specialist, while a power station in central Ukraine was forced to halt operations after a Russian strike, according to power company DTEK.
