Germany arrests Ukrainian man accused of spying for Russia

Military has raised the threat level of Russian sabotage against German troops and facilities.

Al Jazeera2026-10-22 14:36查看原文 ↗

Military has raised the threat level of Russian sabotage against German troops and facilities.

Police investigate after an explosives-laden drone was found near a runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany in August 2026 [File: Axel Schmidt/Reuters]

A Ukrainian national has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia, German authorities have said.

Germany’s federal prosecutors confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the man, identified as Vadym Y, was arrested in the state of Brandenburg 85km (53 miles) west of Berlin.

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Prosecutors said the suspect had been in touch with the Russian secret service via an intermediary since at least July 2025.

The suspect had gathered military intelligence on the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as military personnel and defence installations at locations designed to secure NATO’s eastern flank, prosecutors added.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is currently meeting with regional leaders in Montenegro for the EU-Western Balkans Summit, said he was “not surprised” by the news of a suspected Russian spy.

The arrest comes after German authorities blamed Russia for drone attacks that officials said are part of Moscow’s “shadow war” on the country.

Germany’s armed forces on Wednesday raised the threat level of Russian sabotage against their troops and facilities to “significant” for the first time – the ‌second-highest level on their internal threat scale, German news reports noted.

The move followed the discovery in mid-September of a crashed drone carrying high explosives near the Wunstorf ⁠airbase in Lower Saxony, German news sites WDR and Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.

The drone resembled another unmanned aircraft – also laden with explosives – used in a failed attack at Leipzig/Halle airport in August. Unlike the Leipzig incident, which authorities said targeted civilian cargo aircraft, investigators believe the Wunstorf drone targeted military aircraft, according to an internal military document seen by German media.

The report also noted a pattern of suspected Russian reconnaissance across Germany, including drones flown over a missile defence site in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and a camouflaged camera found filming a strategically important railway station in Minden, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Martin Jaeger, head of Germany’s BND spy service, told lawmakers this month that Russia’s undeclared “shadow war” against Germany and its allies was escalating further and has “taken on a new, more dangerous character”.

“Germany is at risk of being drawn into a violent conflict with Russia,” he told an intelligence oversight committee at Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag.

Moscow denied involvement and has maintained it is not involved in sabotage or hybrid attacks on European nations.

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