Germany expels Russian embassy staffer over links to Russian spy

Germany is expelling a Russian embassy staffer over links to a woman arrested on suspicion of spying for Moscow, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday.

It comes after authorities in Berlin arrested a woman on Wednesday suspected of spying for a Russian intelligence agency and passing on information related to the war in Ukraine.

The German-Ukrainian national, who has since been placed in pre-trial detention, is believed to have been in contact with a middleman at the Russian embassy in the German capital who worked for a Russian intelligence service, according to the Federal Public Prosecutors’ Office.

Since November 2023 at the latest, the suspect provided the contact with “information relating to the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine” on several occasions, Germany’s top law enforcement agency said.

More specifically, the woman is accused of gathering background on participants in “high-profile political events” as well as “information on the locations of the arms industry, drone tests and planned deliveries of drones to Ukraine.”

To that end, she also contacted former German Defence Ministry employees “whom she knew personally.”

The German Foreign Office has since summoned the Russian ambassador and declared the person in question undesirable, Wadephul said on the sidelines of a visit to Ethiopia.

Wadephul said that it was made clear to the Russian ambassador “that this is a hostile act and that intelligence activities are completely unacceptable in our country – especially under the guise of diplomacy.”

Germany’s response shows that “we are watching Russia’s actions very closely and we are taking action against them. Russia’s aggressive behaviour has consequences.”