A woman with dual German and Ukrainian citizenship has been arrested in Berlin on suspicion of spying for Russia, Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said. The suspect, identified as Ilona W., allegedly gathered and passed information relevant to Russia’s war against Ukraine to Russian intelligence. Searches were conducted at her residence and at two other locations in the states of Brandenburg and Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as in Munich.
According to investigators, Ilona W. had been in contact with a representative of Russian intelligence at the Russian Embassy in Berlin since at least November 2023 and transmitted information to him on several occasions.
Prosecutors say she collected details about participants in key political events, the locations of arms manufacturers, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine. She at times reached out to former German Defense Ministry employees she knew personally, and in some cases helped her embassy contact attend political events in Berlin under false names to establish intelligence-relevant connections.
The same day, authorities detained two suspects in Germany on allegations of supporting Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). Deutsche Welle reports that a Russian citizen, Suren A., and a German citizen, Falko H., are suspected of supporting foreign terrorist organizations, a designation Germany’s Federal Prosecutor applies to the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic.” The arrests were made in the state of Brandenburg.
Investigators say that since 2016, Suren A. and Falko H. held leadership roles in the group Friedensbrücke-Kriegsopferhilfe (“Peace Bridge - Aid for War Victims”), which sent humanitarian shipments and medical supplies, as well as drones, to the “DPR” and “LPR.”
