Russian envoy in Germany expelled over spying allegations

Germany’s Federal Foreign Office announced on Thursday that it summoned Russia’s ambassador and informed him of the expulsion of a person accused of espionage in Germany, Azernews reports via Deutsche Welle.

The move follows the arrest of a woman suspected of providing information related to the war in Ukraine.

In a social media statement, the Foreign Office said the German government does not tolerate espionage on its soil, particularly under diplomatic cover, and confirmed that the individual was acting on behalf of Russia.

Separately, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the person concerned at the Russian Embassy had been declared persona non grata with immediate effect.

The expulsion was said to relate to the arrested suspected spy's handler, the embassy's deputy military attache.

The detained German-Ukrainian national was named by the Federal Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice as Ilona W., in accordance with German privacy rules. She was said to have been in contact with a man working for Russian intelligence at the Russian Embassy in Berlin since at least November 2023.

W. allegedly provided information about defense industry locations, drone tests and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine.

On several occasions, she allegedly helped her contact at the embassy attend political events in Berlin under a false identity in order to establish contacts there. She is also suspected of having compiled background information on participants in high-level political events.

The suspected Russian spy is in pretrial detention following her arrest in Berlin on Wednesday.

The expulsion will not go unanswered, the Russian ?Embassy said later on Thursday, claiming that Berlin "had ?chosen to further?escalate Russian-German relations, using clearly ?fabricated?pretexts to do ?so."