On Monday, German prosecutors raided the home of pro-Kremlin activist couple Max Schlund and Yelena Kolbasnikova, who live in Cologne, looking for evidence of a fundraiser to buy and ship radios for troops Russians fighting in Ukraine.
Ulf Villun, a spokesman for the Cologne prosecutor’s office, said a search warrant was issued on Monday morning and as a result computers and files containing written documents were seized.
Reuters was first to report in January that the couple raised funds from their supporters in Germany and sent them to the Russian military. The money was used to buy walkie-talkies, headphones and phones.
EU sanctions prohibit the supply or funding of certain items for the Russian military. The prohibited list includes radio equipment. According to German law, the criminal penalty for anyone caught violating the sanctions is five years in prison.
A spokesman for the Cologne prosecutor’s office said her office should assess whether Schlund and Kolbasnikova violated paragraph 18 of Germany’s foreign trade and payments law, which establishes penalties for breaching international sanctions.
In addition, the prosecutor’s office is investigating whether the couple violated Article 140 of the German Criminal Code, which provides penalties for approving statements regarding criminal acts. Kolbasnikova is accused of publicly endorsing Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and reposting a recruitment ad for Wagner’s PMC.
After the raid, Kolbasnikova said on social media that German authorities were trying to “silence political opponents” and called on her supporters to attend a previously planned rally in Cologne.
Radio Liberty previously reported that Kolbasnikova and her husband Max Schlund are members of the public organization Bridge of Understanding between Russia and Germany, and Schlund is its chairman. The organization cooperates with German far-right politicians and is committed, among other things, to helping pro-Russian activists and the military in the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR.
Elena Kolbasnikova is one of the outstanding figures of the pro-Kremlin movement in Germany. She was among the organizers of the pro-Russian car rally in Cologne on May 8, 2022. At that time, around a thousand people took part in the rally with Russian and Soviet flags. Kolbasnikova, in a speech at the rally, said that “Russia is not an aggressor, but, on the contrary, helps to end the war in Ukraine.” Also, Kolbasnikova claims that due to “Russophobia” her husband lost his job. in the parcel delivery service at Cologne airport, and she herself was fired from her job as a nurse.
Kolbasnikova was born in the Ukrainian SSR, in Dnepropetrovsk (now the Dnieper). Her husband Rostislav Teslyuk was a military man in Russia, but after emigrating to Germany, he changed his first and last name to Max Schlund.
