Three men, a Russian, a Ukrainian and an Armenian, suspected of having spied on a person from Ukraine on behalf of a foreign service, were arrested in Frankfurt, the German federal prosecutor’s office announced on Friday.
The three suspects “were in Germany on behalf of a foreign secret service, in order to collect information on a person from Ukraine,” the prosecution wrote in a press release. It does not specify the country with which the alleged spies were collaborating.
Questioned by AFP, he did not want to specify the country with which the alleged spies were collaborating. “The Ukrainian Robert A., the Armenian Vardges I. and the Russian Arman S. were arrested on Wednesday in Frankfurt and presented on Thursday to a judge who ordered their incarceration.”
On Wednesday, the three suspects went to a cafe in Frankfurt (center) where their target was supposed to be, writes the German federal prosecutor’s office, based in Karlsruhe. According to information from Spiegel, the targeted Ukrainian became suspicious after making contact. He alerted the police, fearing an attack.
It would be a man who had fought against the Russians. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, more than a million Ukrainians have sought refuge in Germany.
Arrests across Europe
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, numerous espionage cases involving Russia have come to light in Germany. A former German secret agent is currently on trial in Berlin for having transmitted classified information to the Russian security services (FSB) in the fall of 2022, an accusation which he categorically rejects.
In April, two men suspected of spying for the Kremlin were arrested on suspicion of planning acts of sabotage, including against “installations of the American armed forces” in order to undermine military support for Ukraine.