Ukrainian national detained in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia

Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office detained a Ukrainian national, Vadym Y., on 22 October on suspicion of gathering information about NATO military facilities for Russian intelligence.

Source: a statement by the German Federal Public Prosecutor General's Office, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Ukrainian national was detained in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg under a warrant issued on 15 October.

Vadym Y. is suspected of acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service.

According to law enforcement authorities, he had been in contact with Russian intelligence through an intermediary since at least July 2025.

He also collected military-related information in Germany, including details about the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as personnel and military facilities in areas responsible for protecting NATO's eastern flank.

Some of the information was publicly available, while the suspect deliberately obtained other details from individuals connected to the European defence industry.

Der Spiegel reports that the man had shown an interest in the Bundeswehr's 45th Armoured Brigade, which is due to be fully deployed in Lithuania next year and ready for combat.

The prosecutor's office said the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice on 23 October. The judge will formally notify him of the arrest warrant and decide whether to remand him in custody.

Background:

• Poland's Military Gendarmerie detained a participant in a reservist training course at the Military Medical Academy in Łódź. Media reports said he is suspected of espionage and holds Polish-Ukrainian citizenship.
• In September, prosecutors in Düsseldorf, Germany, brought charges against a Ukrainian national suspected of spying for Russia.
• In early August, a 33-year-old Ukrainian national was arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying on a defence company.

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