WorldEurope
Germany arrests Ukrainian man suspected of spying on arms makers for Russia
Federal prosecutors say Vadym Y. gathered information on armoured vehicle, ammunition and explosives production and on NATO's eastern flank, in contact with Russian intelligence since at least July 2025.
Key points
- Federal police arrested the suspect, named only as Vadym Y., in Brandenburg's Oder-Spree district.
- He is accused of collecting information on arms production and NATO's eastern flank.
- Germany's military now rates the Russian sabotage threat as significant for the first time.
German federal police have arrested a Ukrainian man suspected of spying for Russian intelligence on Europe’s arms industry and on military sites along NATO’s eastern flank, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday.
The suspect, named only as Vadym Y. under German privacy rules, was detained in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin. An investigating judge had issued a warrant for him on 15 October.
Prosecutors say he had been in touch with a Russian intelligence service through a go-between since at least July 2025. He is accused of gathering information linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine, including the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition and explosives, and details of military personnel and installations on NATO’s eastern flank.
Some of what he collected was publicly available. Other details, prosecutors allege, came from deliberately approaching people who work in the European defence industry. The domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, supplied information that led to the case.
The arrest comes as Berlin grows more alarmed about Russian activity on German soil. Germany’s armed forces have for the first time classed the threat of Russian sabotage as “significant”, the second-highest level. “We are noting that we face a significant sabotage threat overall,” a defence ministry spokesperson said.
Earlier this month, Martin Jaeger, head of the BND foreign intelligence service, told lawmakers that Germany was in a “shadow war” with Russia.
Germany is one of Ukraine’s biggest military backers in Europe, and its defence plants have become a growing focus for investigators tracking suspected Russian espionage and sabotage plots.