Several Ukrainian men have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland after investigators uncovered a plot to launch attacks in Europe. Authorities believe the men were acting on behalf of Russia. Two were arrested over the weekend, while a third was taken into custody on Tuesday, according to German authorities.

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office has accused the three men – identified only as Vladyslav T., Daniil B., and Yevhen B. – of plotting to carry out sabotage acts for the Kremlin. Prosecutors allege the three agreed to commit acts of aggravated arson and to detonate explosives.

Investigators claim the Ukrainians had already started test runs for their planned attacks.

It is alleged that the men sent packages containing GPS trackers addressed to Ukrainian addresses.

Yevhen B. reportedly procured the tracking devices in Switzerland before sending them to Daniill B. in Konstanz.

He, then, forwarded the devices on to Cologne, from where Vladyslav T. sent them to Ukraine. This was done to scout the packages’ transport routes.

Western security experts have repeatedly warned that the Kremlin is seeking to sponsor acts of terror and sabotage across Europe, as it steps up its efforts to sow panic and chaos on the continent.

The head of MI6, Richard Moore, told a Prais conference in December that the UK had “uncovered a breathtakingly ruthless campaign of Russian sabotage”.

Another intelligence chief said Russia wants to “sow chaos in Europe”, in retaliation for EU countries’ military support for Ukraine.

It comes as Poland blamed Russian intelligence services for being behind a fire that ripped through a shopping centre in Warsaw last year.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland knows “for sure” that the blaze at the Marywilska shopping centre was caused by arson ordered by the Russian special services.

Tusk added that some of those responsible are already in custody, while all the others alleged to have been involved have been identified and are being searched for.

The fire in May 2024 destroyed 1,400 small businesses, with many of the staff there being members of Warsaw’s Vietnamese community.

Russia denied its involvement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accusing Poland of being “Russophobic”.

Russian parcel bomb plot foiled as saboteurs arrested across Europe | World | News | Express.co.uk