Russia says it detained a German who fought for Ukraine as a sniper and deserted

FSB announcement

On Wednesday, 21 October, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained a German citizen who allegedly fought for the Ukrainian armed forces as a sniper. In a statement from its public relations centre, relayed by the Russian state news agency TASS, the FSB said the man deserted after he did not receive the money he had been promised. The agency said a decision was pending on opening a criminal case for mercenarism under Article 359 of the Russian Criminal Code. Reports citing the code state that a mercenary's participation in an armed conflict can bring up to 15 years in prison. The FSB did not say where or under what circumstances the arrest took place, and the man's name has not been released.

Alleged service record

According to the FSB, the man was born in 1976 and served in the Bundeswehr from 1996 to 2010, including deployments to Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010 and to Somalia from 2006 to 2008. After leaving the German army, he allegedly fought as a mercenary in Syria, which the FSB dates to 2008 to 2010. He then allegedly served as a sniper in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit from 2016 to 2018, on the front line in Donetsk Oblast, which was partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists at the time. The FSB says he returned to Ukraine in November 2025 for money and signed a three-year military contract, and it published a video of the arrest in which he speaks German.

Unverified claims and German response

None of the FSB's claims can be checked independently, and the reports do not say where the man was held. Germany had not officially commented on the detention as of the reporting. The Federal Foreign Office has long warned against travel to Russia, and its current security advice explicitly flags the risk of arbitrary arrests of German nationals. The criminal case remains under consideration, so no charges have been formally announced in the reports.

Wider pattern of arrests

On 15 October the FSB reported the detention of a Swedish citizen in Pskov Oblast, western Russia. The man allegedly commanded a drone unit fighting for Ukraine and was arrested while crossing the border illegally. He is suspected of planning sabotage and terror attacks on military facilities in Russia, and a criminal case for illegal border crossing was opened. Russian courts have handed long prison terms to hundreds of people over the past four years on charges such as treason, sabotage and espionage, and several foreigners have been convicted, including for alleged mercenary activity for Ukraine. In September 2024 a court sentenced US citizen Michael Paul Maldonado in absentia to 14 years for fighting for Ukraine as a mercenary, according to the Investigative Committee.

Open questions

Several basic facts remain unconfirmed, including the place of arrest, the man's identity and whether a criminal case will be opened. Every element of his alleged service record comes from FSB statements, and none has been independently verified. The FSB regularly reports arrests of suspects it says acted for Ukrainian or Western intelligence services. It also regularly warns Russian citizens against being recruited for crimes against the Russian state.