 "Former German soldier accused of spying for Russia to stand trial as Berlin faces surge in Moscow linked espionage cases")
As Berlin deals with an increase in Moscow-related espionage cases amid the conflict in Ukraine, a former soldier from Germany will go on trial on Monday on charges of spying for Russia.
According to German privacy rules, the suspect—who was only given the name Thomas H.—was taken into custody in August of last year in the western city of Koblenz.
He is charged with providing Russian intelligence agencies with information he learned while serving in the Bundeswehr, the German military’s procurement branch.
Germany is Kyiv’s second-largest military aid provider, and since Russia invaded the country in early 2022, there has been a spike in reported espionage cases connected to Moscow.
Thomas H. had been a career soldier, working at the army’s Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support Department.
The department, which has about 12,000 employees, has seen its work increase substantially since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, as Berlin pumps more funds into a wide-ranging overhaul of the Bundeswehr after years of neglect.
In May 2023, the suspect “approached the Russian general consulate in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin and offered his cooperation”, prosecutors said in a statement when he was arrested.
“In the process, he passed on information he had obtained in the course of his professional activities for it to be passed on to a Russian intelligence service.”
After his arrest, media reports suggested he had access to sensitive information as the department he worked in counted among its tasks the procurement of highly modern systems for electronic warfare.
These included technology for the surveillance and disruption of opponents’ radio systems and the shutting down of enemy radio or airshield systems.
Surging spy cases
Thomas H. faces charges of being an intelligence agent and violating rules on official secrecy. He is standing trial in the western city of Duesseldorf, with hearings set to last until late June.
Germany’s domestic security agency, the BfV, warned last year of the risk of an “aggressive Russian espionage operation” against the backdrop of soaring tensions between the West and Moscow.
The latest example came just this month, when investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany – including on US army targets – to undermine military support for Ukraine.
A former German intelligence officer is 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.
In November 2022, a German man was handed a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence while serving as a German army reserve officer.
German officials have pledged to take a hard line as spying cases surge, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying this month that “we can never accept that espionage activities in Germany take place”.
Last year, Berlin expelled several Russian diplomats over espionage concerns, prompting the tit-for-tat expulsion of 20 German diplomats from Moscow.
Russian authorities for their part have levelled treason charges against dozens of people accused of aiding Kyiv and the West since the invasion.
