German security authorities discovered handguns stashed in a forest near Berlin last year that they believe were to be used to carry out assassinations on behalf of Russian intelligence, reports say.
According to an investigation published by Süddeutsche Zeitung on Friday in cooperation with broadcasters NDR and WDR, one suspect has been arrested in Romania and may have been responsible for setting up the weapons storage.
The federal public prosecutor's office is investigating the case on suspicion of planning a serious act of violence posing a threat to the state. Germany's domestic intelligence service, which has been warning of a heightened risk of Russian sabotage or assassination attempts, is convinced that those setting up the cache were acting on orders from Russian services.
Potential targets included defence industry executives, exiled opposition figures and supporters of Ukraine, the report said. The federal public prosecutor and Germany's domestic intelligence service declined to comment.