A German soldier tried to spy on Moscow
A German official appeared in a Düsseldorf court on Monday accused of spying for Moscow. A man simply represented by a federal prosecutor Thomas H.Arrested in Koblenz in August 2023.
He is accused of passing information to Russian intelligence services while working in the Bundeswehr's main information technology and logistics department, which is responsible for managing military equipment.
The department, which has about 12,000 employees, has seen its work increase significantly since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, with Germany becoming the second-largest contributor of military aid to Kyiv behind the United States.
In May 2023, the suspect “The Russian Embassy in Bonn and the Russian Embassy in Berlin were approached and offered cooperation”According to the case. “He then passed the information he obtained in the course of his professional activities to the Russian intelligence service”he added.
According to German media, the soldier had access to particularly sensitive information, particularly on electronic warfare systems.
According to the magazine, Thomas H Der Spiegel, a captain in the military department responsible for procuring electronic warfare equipment that would specifically allow him to disrupt enemy air defense systems. The man is accused of being an intelligence agent and breaching security secrecy laws. He had it too “Noted domestically for his sympathies for the AfD”Germany's far-right party is considered close to Russia, according to a Berlin newspaper Dayspiegel.
The trial is expected to last until the end of June. He will be jailed for ten years.
Last year, German domestic intelligence services warned of increased spying for Russia after the Ukraine invasion, raising tensions between the West and Moscow. The latest example dates back to April 18. Two men of Russian and German citizenship have been charged with plotting acts of sabotage to Russia, including a US military base, to undermine German aid to Ukraine.
A former German secret agent is currently on trial in Berlin for passing classified information to the Russian Security Services (FSB) in the fall of 2022, a charge he categorically denies. In November 2022, a German national was also given a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence while serving as a reserve officer of the Bundeswehr.
German authorities have vowed to take a tougher stance in response to the proliferation of these types of cases. “We can never accept espionage in Germany”Chancellor Olaf Scholz said recently.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany has expelled numerous Russian diplomats accused of threatening the country's security.
In response to Moscow's restrictions on its own diplomatic representation in Russia, Berlin closed four of the five Russian embassies on its soil.
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