(Adnkronos) – The German judiciary announced today the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen, suspected of having collected “information of military interest” on behalf of Russia. The arrest was described as a “success” by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said he expects similar cases to occur in the “coming months and years”; Germany, in fact, as a loyal ally of Ukraine, is “the target of intense espionage activities” by Russian secret services. The man, identified as Vadym Y., “was in contact, through an intermediary, with a Russian intelligence service,” at least from July 2025, according to a statement from the German prosecutor’s office.
Specifically, it concerned “information regarding the production of armored vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as data on military personnel and facilities located at sites intended to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank,” the source specified. According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the suspect – a 53-year-old man with ties to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service – had focused in particular on the Bundeswehr’s armored brigade stationed in Lithuania. This unit, operational from May 2025, aims to strengthen the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. Originally from Luhansk – a city in eastern Ukraine with a Russian-speaking majority – Vadym Y. resided in Eisenhüttenstadt, a town in former East Germany, Der Spiegel writes.
In its statement, the prosecutor’s office specifies that, among the information transmitted by the suspect, some were in the public domain. Others, however, came from people working in the European arms sector, whom the man had “identified and contacted” specifically. He was arrested in Brandenburg, near Berlin, and will appear before the investigating judge tomorrow, the prosecutor’s office adds.
