German prosecutors on Wednesday arrested a German-Ukrainian national suspected of spying for Russia. According to the investigation, she collected information about drones intended for Ukraine during political events, and also by establishing contacts with former employees of the Ministry of Defense, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Ilona W. (surname not disclosed in accordance with German data protection laws) is suspected of maintaining intelligence contacts with the Russian embassy in Berlin since at least November 2023.
Security services across Europe are warning of a growing threat from Russian intelligence services trying to curb Western support for Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
Suspect accused of collecting defense information
Prosecutors said the suspect compiled dossiers on participants in political events and collected data on defense industry facilities, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine. She passed the information to her handler, identified as a Russian intelligence officer.
In some cases, Ilona W. helped her contact person attend political events in Berlin under assumed names to establish intelligence-useful connections, prosecutors said.
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The Russian embassy in Berlin did not respond to a request for comment, and phone calls were immediately disconnected.
It is also reported that Ilona W. contacted former employees of the Ministry of Defense, whom she knew personally, to collect information.
On Wednesday, prosecutors searched her home, as well as the homes of two other suspects who were not arrested.
Ties to the German armed forces
Two former Bundeswehr servicemen are suspected of passing information to the woman, a German Defense Ministry spokesman said at a regular briefing.
Investigators are checking whether a recently retired staff officer and a high-ranking civil servant who left the agency more than 15 years ago knowingly passed on information.
Military counterintelligence launched an investigation into the officer after suspicions arose during his service, the spokesman added, declining to elaborate.
Recall
Prosecutors on Wednesday, January 21, reported the detention of Russian and German citizens on suspicion of supporting pro-Russian armed groups in eastern Ukraine.
According to the investigation, these individuals organized the supply of aid to the so-called "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics," which are recognized as foreign terrorist organizations in Germany.