Germany decided to expel this Thursday a high-ranking official from the Russian embassy in Berlin, accused of acting as a spy in the service of Moscow under the cover of his diplomatic status. The measure was announced by the German Foreign Ministry, which classified the practice as “intolerable”.
Although the German government has not officially detailed the expelled diplomat’s position, the magazine The mirror reported that he is the deputy military attaché of the Russian embassy. According to the publication, he would be the main contact of a German-Ukrainian citizen arrested this week on suspicion of espionage.
In a statement released on the social network X, German diplomacy stated that “the federal government does not tolerate espionage on German territory, much less under the protection of diplomatic status”. According to the ministry, Russia’s ambassador in Berlin, Sergei Nechaev, was summoned to be formally informed of the expulsion.
According to the German Public Prosecutor’s Office, the German-Ukrainian citizen arrested this week on suspicion of espionage is called Ilona. She was preventively detained on Tuesday (20) and is accused of acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service, based on article 99, paragraph 1, of the German Criminal Code, which deals with the “activity of secret agents”.
Authorities said that Ilona had, since November 2023, maintained regular contacts with “a person linked to the Russian embassy in Berlin” who would work for one of Moscow’s intelligence services. According to the accusation, she transmitted information of a military nature.
According to the The mirrorIlona was on the board of an association focused on “international cooperation” and “understanding between peoples”, which maintained contacts with politicians from German government parties, such as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
