A Bundeswehr serviceman spent several years leading the German branch of the Night Wolves motorcycle club, and he continues to hold a leadership position with the group. The Insider found a ruling by a German military disciplinary court dismissing the soldier from service. His name was withheld in the ruling, but The Insider identified him as Alexander Sautner, a dual German-Russian citizen. Sautner initially served as vice president of the club’s “Roads of Victory” division, where he was responsible for organizing international motorcycle rallies. In early 2023, Sautner became vice president of the independent German chapter of the biker club: Night Wolves MC Germania. Despite a disciplinary investigation against him, Sautner continued directing the club’s activities and maintaining contacts with its Russian leadership.
A Bundeswehr soldier
The German military court’s ruling describes in detail how a Bundeswehr serviceman came to hold a leadership position in the Night Wolves.
The soldier is not named in the document, but the charges list the actions that formed the basis of the case against him. They include his participation on April 11, 2022, in a Rossiya Segodnya video conference featuring a Soviet flag in the background, several links to RT and Sputnik material that he posted in 2015, and criticism of Polish authorities for refusing to allow a Night Wolves motorcycle convoy to cross their border. According to publicly available information, the only German participant in the aforementioned April 2022 news conference was Alexander Sautner, and the same posts cited in the ruling can be found on Sautner’s Facebook page (1, 2).
According to the court, Sautner was born in Kazakhstan, moved to Russia with his parents at the age of 2, and relocated with his family to Germany in 1994. He holds both Russian and German citizenship.
Sautner joined the Bundeswehr in July 2007 as a noncommissioned officer candidate and attended the German Air Force’s NCO school. After completing his training, he served in transport units, working in vehicle logistics. In February 2010, he was promoted to Stabsunteroffizier, a junior noncommissioned officer rank, and in January 2013 he was transferred to a logistics battalion.
From July to November 2013, Sautner took part in the International Security Assistance Force mission in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, receiving the Bundeswehr’s bronze deployment medal for his service. He was also awarded the gold-level military service badge.
A September 2013 performance review described Sautner as an experienced, motivated, and results-oriented noncommissioned officer. His commanders praised his openness, honesty, good relations with fellow soldiers, and overall strong performance. In August 2018, at his own request, Sautner transferred to another unit within the logistics battalion.
Sautner’s Bundeswehr contract was not due to expire until June 30, 2032. However, even before the 2018 transfer, Sautner had begun participating in the activities of the Night Wolves motorcycle club — infamous for its longstanding ties to Vladimir Putin, including its role in Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. According to Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service, known by its German acronym MAD, Sautner had been a club member since around 2016 and had taken part in its motorcycle rallies even earlier than that.
Sautner later became the first German member of the Night Wolves to achieve “full color” status, meaning full membership in the motorcycle club. In biker culture, “colors” are patches bearing a club’s name and emblem that members wear on their vests. The right to wear the complete set signifies that a person has progressed from supporter and prospective member to a full member of the club.
Sautner later became vice president of the Roads of Victory division, replacing his wife’s uncle in the role. The court ruling does not specify exactly when that happened, but MAD describes him as a longtime vice president and says that until the spring or summer of 2022, he played a key role in organizing and running international motorcycle rallies.
Roads of Victory is a themed Night Wolves division that organizes annual motorcycle rallies around May 9, Russia’s Victory Day commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Before an independent German chapter was established, Night Wolves activities in Germany were carried out through Roads of Victory, which was headed by Andrei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky, for his part, is an associate of Night Wolves founder Alexander Zaldostanov, who came under European Union sanctions in 2022. As vice president, Sautner effectively headed Roads of Victory activities in Germany.
The Night Wolves motorcycle club itself was founded by Zaldostanov in 1989. MAD documents say the organization has about 45 chapters in different countries and operates under a strict hierarchy. According to the counterintelligence agency, members are required to follow the club leadership, while Zaldostanov can issue instructions directly to members of foreign chapters.
The Night Wolves and several of the club’s leaders are under EU sanctions for supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions justification says the organization spreads Russian propaganda, supports pro-Russian armed formations in Ukraine, and maintains close ties to the Kremlin.
German military counterintelligence regards the Night Wolves’ activities as one instrument of Russia’s hybrid warfare efforts against Germany. MAD assesses that the annual motorcycle rallies are used not only as commemorative events, but also to spread pro-Russian political messages.
How the investigation into Sautner began
The first suspicions among Bundeswehr commanders emerged in 2020, when Sautner’s battalion commander and a security officer noticed a Night Wolves emblem sticker on the rear window of Sautner’s car while it was parked on military premises. At the time, Sautner was working primarily as part of the Bundeswehr’s assistance to civilian health authorities. However, after his links to the Russian motorcycle club were discovered, his commanders concluded that he could no longer be assigned to perform work involving classified information.
Sautner’s former direct superior, whose name was withheld in the ruling, testified that the soldier was primarily assisting civilian health authorities at the time, but the restriction on deploying him to posts requiring security clearance created problems for a unit that had commitments to NATO’s rapid-response forces. The situation was compounded by Sautner’s military specialty, which was in short supply, making him difficult to replace.
Sautner also told the court about the circumstances that prevented him from passing the security vetting required for access to classified information, saying that he had retained Russian citizenship because renouncing it would have involved significant expense. He also refused to sign a pledge not to visit certain countries that were considered potential security risks. The ruling does not identify those countries. Holding a second citizenship is not itself prohibited for Bundeswehr service, and the court documents do not indicate that Sautner concealed the existence of his Russian passport from his commanders.
On Feb. 4, 2021, the Bundeswehr’s logistics command formally opened disciplinary proceedings against Sauter, and in December of that year, he was informed of the main findings, which centered on four Facebook posts he had made between 2015 and 2019. Sautner was offered the opportunity to respond, but declined.
On Jan. 27, 2015, Sauter commented on a Sputnik report about Ukrainian military losses in the Donetsk region, writing that Ukrainians could now try out their crematorium. Military disciplinary prosecutors interpreted the remark as incitement to violence and hatred.
On April 27, 2015, Sautner criticized Polish authorities for refusing to allow Night Wolves participants in a motorcycle rally to transit the country on their way to Berlin. He complained that the bikers were being prevented from honoring those killed in World War II and called the Polish authorities “dirty U.S. vassals.”
On Sept. 4, 2015, Sautner shared an article from the German magazine Compact describing the country as an occupied American colony. He posted another article, this time from RT Deutsch, on June 26, 2019. It concerned historical memory and relations between Russia and the West.
The Insider found the first two posts, which were described in detail in the court ruling, on Sautner’s Facebook page. The court ultimately did not consider the four posts in its final judgment, and they were not brought up during Sautner’s disciplinary hearing because they were unlikely to materially affect the type or severity of the punishment.
Notably, despite the investigation, Sautner continued participating in Night Wolves activities. On May 9, 2021, during one of the Roads of Victory rallies, he was seen carrying the flag of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic.” MAD assessed that displaying the symbol of the unrecognized Russian-backed statelet demonstrated how commemorative events were being used to promote Russian political messages.
Instructions from Night Wolves leaders and a pro-Russian demonstration in Berlin
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, German military counterintelligence uncovered evidence of direct interaction between Sautner and the club’s Russian leadership. MAD materials cited in the court ruling say Sautner maintained direct contact with Alexander Zaldostanov and Andrei Bobrovsky and received instructions from them, including while members of the club leadership were in the war zone in Ukraine.
One such episode occurred in early March 2022, mere days after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24.
In club correspondence from March 4 and 5, counterintelligence officers found discussions of a demonstration in Berlin that was to be held under the stated aim of opposing alleged persecution of Russian-speaking residents of Germany. According to MAD, Sautner received a personal message containing instructions from Roads of Victory president Bobrovsky, who was referred to as Hauptkommandant, or “commander in chief” in the correspondence. Participants were urged to fight on the “information front.”
Sautner then sent a voice message to the German Roads of Victory group chat strongly urging other club members to attend. On March 5, 2022, Sautner appeared with other Night Wolves members at a demonstration at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, where he posed with a Russian flag bearing state symbols and the word “Russia.” Photographs from the event were later reviewed by the court.
Sautner said he attended the demonstration to protest discrimination against Russian-speaking people in Germany, adding that he was particularly concerned about his own children. The court, however, viewed the event as a public display of solidarity with Russia staged against the backdrop of the start of its invasion of Ukraine.
The court ruling also mentions another public appearance by Sautner. On April 11, 2022, he participated by video link in a news conference organized by the Russian state media group Rossiya Segodnya. A Soviet flag with a hammer and sickle was visible behind him. MAD interpreted the episode as a further demonstration of Sautner’s senior position within the Night Wolves leadership.
Raising money for Donbas
During the investigation, German military counterintelligence also examined messages from a WhatsApp group called NW DP GERMANY, which was found on Sautner’s phone.
One message asked club members to contribute 1,000 rubles (around $13 at the time) each by Feb. 1, 2022, and then another 500 rubles per month to support Night Wolves chapters in Donbas. The appeal was posted by Denis N., whom German counterintelligence described as a close confidant of Sautner. The person was Denis Nalyotov, who later became head of the club’s German branch.
MAD assessed that the collected funds could have been used to purchase equipment suitable for armed operations against Ukraine. On Feb. 27, 2022, after the full-scale invasion had begun, Sautner himself called on members of the German Roads of Victory organization to send 13 euros each to a person named Badja. According to the message, the money was intended for humanitarian aid to Donbas.
On March 1, Denis Nalyotov discussed the collection with another club member, Thorsten M. He said the money could be sent by PayPal but that it would be better to wait for an in-person meeting and hand it over in cash so the transfers would leave no record.
On April 26, Sautner said in a WhatsApp voice message that around 1,000 euros had been collected. He said the money had been transferred to a fund called “Humanitarian Aid for Donbas.”
MAD materials also cite correspondence from March 2, 2023, in which Badja again called for donations for humanitarian aid. A Roads of Victory representative in Germany replied that fundraising was already underway.
The court ruling does not establish that Sautner personally purchased military equipment or that the funds collected were in fact used for armed activity against Ukraine. The possible military purpose of the money appears specifically as an assessment by MAD.
How Sautner became vice president of Germany’s Night Wolves
In the spring or summer of 2022, Sautner stepped down as vice president of the German Roads of Victory organization, being replaced by Denis Nalyotov. Сounterintelligence assessed that Sautner may have given up the title because of pressure from German law enforcement. Disciplinary proceedings against him were already underway, and MAD documents also refer to an investigation by Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office. The court ruling does not disclose details of that investigation.
The formal transfer of the post, however, did not mean Sautner stopped playing a leadership role. According to MAD, he continued coordinating all major decisions with Nalyotov, with the two generally making and implementing them together.
In early 2023, the Night Wolves established an independent German chapter, Night Wolves MC Germania. Nalyotov became president of the new organization, while Sautner became vice president.
The two informally divided Germany into two zones. Nalyotov ran the northern chapter from Hanover, while Sautner oversaw the south from Bad Mergentheim in Baden-Württemberg. Flight records reviewed by The Insider also indicate that Sautner and Nalyotov traveled to Moscow together after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. (Nalyotov flew from Kaliningrad to Moscow on Jan. 15, 2023, and returned on Jan. 21.)
Sautner therefore obtained a new formal leadership position in the Night Wolves’ German structure after the Bundeswehr’s disciplinary proceedings had already begun. MAD assessed that Sautner’s appointments as club president and vice president indicated a particularly high level of trust from Alexander Zaldostanov. MAD also found that the Russian leadership continued to control foreign chapters, including the organization of propaganda events in Germany.
At the court hearing, Sautner confirmed that he remained a full member of the Night Wolves and continued to serve as vice president of the German chapter.
Why Sautner was not dismissed from the Bundeswehr until 2026
On March 9, 2022, the proceedings were suspended pending additional disciplinary charges. The Bundeswehr’s Federal Office of Personnel Management later considered dismissing Sautner under a law allowing the expedited removal of soldiers involved in anti-constitutional activities without lengthy court proceedings. Sautner was temporarily suspended from official duties in April 2022, and the hearings continued for several more years. On May 26, 2025, the agency determined that there were insufficient grounds execute Sautner’s expedited removal, and the disciplinary case against him continued.
Then on Oct. 10, 2025, Sautner was served with an amended charge sheet. In addition to the earlier Facebook posts, the case now included three new allegations: participation in the pro-Russian demonstration on March 5, 2022; serving as vice president of the German Night Wolves chapter from at least early 2023 through July 29, 2025; and sending an insulting email to a fellow soldier.
The final incident occurred on April 19, 2025. During the night, Sautner emailed a senior NCO in his unit complaining that he had not been informed about the death of a former fellow serviceman. Sautner said the man had died by suicide and accused the command of inaction. The email contained numerous insults directed at members of the unit.
At the court hearing, Sautner apologized to the recipient. The court nevertheless found that he had deliberately violated his duty to treat fellow soldiers with respect.
The court also heard testimony from Sautner’s former commanders, who described him as an experienced, calm, and reliable soldier widely respected by his colleagues. One commander said he had been surprised by the allegations against him.
At the same time, Sautner’s former superiors said that given his actions, they no longer considered his return to the Bundeswehr possible. According to the court ruling, Sautner had openly discussed his Night Wolves activities on his Facebook page, meaning his links to the club were known within his unit.
When Sautner was asked during the hearing whether he even wanted to remain in the Bundeswehr, he was unable to answer immediately. Ultimately, the judges concluded that Sautner had deliberately violated his soldierly duties to remain loyal to Germany, to uphold its constitutional order, and to refrain from conduct that could undermine trust in the Bundeswehr. The court separately stressed that Sautner’s leadership role in an organization closely linked to the Russian state was incompatible with service in Germany’s armed forces.
The ruling also noted that Sautner did not end his Night Wolves activities after the investigation began. On the contrary, while disciplinary proceedings were already underway, he assumed an even more prominent position in the club. The court considered that to be an aggravating factor.
“He can no longer be the servant of two masters,” the ruling said. The judges were quoting wording used by Sautner’s own defense, although the document does not explain the context in which his lawyer used the phrase.
The judges ruled that the Bundeswehr’s trust in Sautner had been irreparably destroyed. On Jan. 28, 2026, Germany’s military disciplinary court found him guilty of disciplinary violations and ordered his dismissal from service. Sautner was also denied special transitional payments following his dismissal and ordered to pay court costs.
The judgment became final on Feb. 5, 2026. The decision was based on Sautner’s leadership role in an organization that German counterintelligence links to the Russian state, his public participation in a pro-Russian demonstration after the start of the full-scale invasion, and his violations of military duties.