Oct 22 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian national has been arrested in the German state Brandenburg on suspicion of spying for Russia, a statement by federal public prosecutors said on Thursday.
Germany has stepped up efforts to counter what it sees as escalating hybrid attacks from Moscow, deemed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz the biggest threat to his country’s security.
The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Vadym Y. under German privacy rules, had been in contact with a Russian secret service via an intermediary since at least July 2025, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said he gathered military-related intelligence, including information on the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as personnel and installations involved in securing NATO’s eastern flank.
While some of the information was publicly available, other details were solicited from individuals in the European defence industry, they said.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
MOUNTING THREAT
Merz said on Thursday the arrest did not surprise him and warned that there would be more such cases in the future.
Western officials have warned for months that Russia is mounting sabotage, cyber and other hybrid attacks across Europe to erode support for Ukraine.
Merz said on Wednesday that Russian disinformation campaigns and hybrid operations posed the greatest threat to Germany’s security, adding that Moscow was mounting a broader challenge to the political order established after the Cold War.
The suspect is due to appear before an investigating judge at Germany’s Federal Court of Justice on Friday, when he will be formally presented with the arrest warrant and a decision will be made on whether he remains in pre-trial detention.
(Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; additional reporting by Cian Muenster and Miranda Murray; writing by Linda Pasquini; editing by Matthias Williams and Ros Russell)
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