Dual German-Ukrainian citizen arrested in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia

German authorities have arrested a woman in Berlin on suspicion of collecting and passing information related to the war in Ukraine to Russian intelligence services. According to a press release issued on Jan. 21 by the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect is Ilona W., a dual citizen of Germany and Ukraine.

As part of the investigation, searches were carried out at the residences of two other suspects in the states of Brandenburg and Rhineland-Palatinate, and in the city of Munich. They remain at large.

Investigators said Ilona W. had been in contact with a representative of Russian intelligence at the Russian Embassy in Berlin since at least November 2023. On several occasions, she allegedly passed him information related to the war in Ukraine.

“She compiled background information on participants in high-level political events and gathered information on arms industry locations, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine,” the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said. “To achieve her objectives, Ilona W. sometimes contacted former employees of the Federal Ministry of Defense with whom she was personally acquainted. Occasionally, the accused helped her contact at the Russian Embassy attend political events in Berlin under aliases in order to establish contacts relevant to the intelligence service.”

Also on Jan 21., in a separate case, German authorities announced the arrest of two people who are suspected of supporting the so-called “people’s republics” in eastern Ukraine. According to reporting by Deutsche Welle, German investigators allege that Russian citizen Suren A. and German citizen Falko H. supported foreign terrorist organizations, a designation that Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office applies to the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic.” The suspects were detained in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

DW, citing reporting by the broadcaster ARD, added that both men held leadership roles in the organization Friedensbrücke-Kriegsopferhilfe (“Peace Bridge — War Victims Aid”), which sent humanitarian aid, medical supplies, and drones to the territories controlled by the “DPR” and “LPR.”