Germany expels Russian diplomat on espionage charges - Spiegel
Kyiv • UNN
Germany is expelling Russia's deputy military attaché within 72 hours after the arrest of Ilona W., suspected of espionage. The diplomat, accredited as Andrei M., is suspected of directing the spy who collected military information for the Russian Federation.
Germany reacted to the detention of a suspected spy with harsh measures: the deputy military attaché of the Russian embassy must leave the country within 72 hours. This is reported by Der Spiegel, writes UNN.
Details
The German government reacted with harsh measures after the detention of a suspected spy in Berlin. On Thursday, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador for a conversation.
During the meeting with the political director of the Foreign Ministry, the Kremlin diplomat was informed that the deputy military attaché of the embassy must immediately leave Germany, as he actually works for one of the Russian special services and allegedly managed the detained spy for a long time. Now this special service employee must leave within 72 hours.
On Thursday, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office detained German-Ukrainian citizen Ilona W., who, according to the investigation, purposefully collected military information about the war in Ukraine in Germany and passed it on to a contact at the Russian embassy. According to SPIEGEL, the contact person is Andriy M., accredited as a deputy military attaché, who actually worked for the Russian special services and acted as Ilona W.'s handler.
The Federal Prosecutor General accuses Ilona W. of "intelligence activities." Since 2023, according to the investigation, she has been in contact with the Russian embassy and has repeatedly transmitted militarily sensitive information there, most recently about the location of German defense industry facilities, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine.
The suspected spy collected information during visits to "prestigious political events," where she presented herself as a consultant. In addition, she could use contacts with two men closely associated with the Ministry of Defense. One of them worked as an engineer in the military-technical unit of the Bundeswehr, the other, until his recent retirement, was a staff officer in the troops and the Ministry of Defense.
Whether these two Germans provided the spy with access to sensitive information or even classified materials of the military apparatus has not yet been proven. On Thursday, investigators searched their apartments and seized a significant amount of evidence, but the men were not detained