German police on Thursday arrested a Ukrainian man accused of spying for a Russian intelligence service, with a focus on “militarily relevant information,” federal prosecutors said.
The man, partially named as Vadym Y., allegedly collected “details regarding the production of armored vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as information on personnel and military facilities at locations intended to secure NATO’s eastern flank.” He was arrested east of Berlin in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg by the Federal Criminal Police Office, based on information from the domestic spy agency BfV.
Prosecutors said that “at least as of July 2025, Vadym Y. was in contact with a Russian intelligence service via an intermediary.” Against the backdrop of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, they said, he gathered militarily relevant information from Germany for that service. They added that he used publicly available information and also “specifically targeted individuals within the European defense industry” to obtain other intelligence.
News weekly Der Spiegel, citing unnamed security sources, reported that the man is 53, lives in the eastern German city of Eisenhuettenstadt and comes from Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. Investigators believe he has ties with Russia’s GRU military intelligence service and was especially interested in a 5,000-troop base Germany is building in Lithuania, the magazine said.
Germany is among the largest supporters of Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion and has invested record sums into rebuilding its own military to deter Russia. Berlin has repeatedly accused Moscow of a “hybrid” campaign of espionage, sabotage and other disruptions, charges Moscow has vehemently denied.
Martin Jaeger, head of Germany’s BND spy service, told lawmakers this month that Russia’s undeclared “shadow war” against Germany and its allies was escalating and has “taken on a new, more dangerous character.” He told parliament’s intelligence oversight committee that “Germany is at risk of being drawn into a violent conflict with Russia.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking in Montenegro on Thursday, called the arrest a “success” and said Germany should expect more such cases because it had become “the target of intensive espionage activities” by Russian secret services.