Support The Moscow Times!

Germany Arrests 3 Men Suspected of Spying on Ukrainian National

Police officers in Frankfurt. Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP

German prosecutors announced Friday that they had arrested three men suspected of spying for a foreign intelligence service.

The three men were arrested in the western city of Frankfurt on Wednesday after allegedly trying "to gather information about a Ukrainian national," federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The men were only identified as Robert A. from Ukraine, Vardges I. from Armenia and Russian citizen Arman S.

Prosecutors did not specify which foreign secret service the men were allegedly working for and declined to comment further when contacted by AFP.

"The three suspects were acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service in Germany," the statement said, adding that the trio had on June 19 "scouted a cafe in Frankfurt am Main where the target person was thought to be."

Germany has uncovered numerous espionage cases on its soil since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A former German intelligence officer is currently on trial in Berlin, accused of handing information to Moscow that showed Germany had access to details of Russian mercenary operations in Ukraine. He denies the charges.

Last month, a former German soldier was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more