German authorities have arrested a German-Ukrainian dual national in Berlin on suspicion of working for Russian intelligence since late 2023, the Federal Prosecutor's Office announced on Wednesday. Ilona W. is accused of providing her Russian handler with information specifically related to the war in Ukraine, including data on arms industry locations, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Kyiv.
The arrest exposes the specific intelligence Russia seeks from NATO's main logistics hub: details about weapons flowing to Ukrainian forces. Germany has emerged as a central target for Russian hybrid operations, with Berlin's own classified defense documents warning that covert attacks on infrastructure are likely preparation for broader conflict. Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared last year that Germany is "not at war, but no longer at peace either."
How the alleged spy network operated
According to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, Ilona W. maintained contact with a man at the Russian embassy in Berlin who worked for Russian intelligence since at least November 2023—a span of more than two years.
The suspect allegedly compiled background information on participants at "high-profile political events" and gathered "inquiries about the locations of arms industries, drone tests, and planned drone deliveries to Ukraine." She reportedly leveraged personal connections with former employees of the Federal Ministry of Defense to obtain information.
She also allegedly helped her Russian contact attend political events in Berlin under aliases, enabling him to build intelligence-relevant contacts while concealing his identity.
Three apartments searched, two suspects at large
German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) officers searched three apartments on Wednesday: the suspect's residence and those of two other suspects in Brandenburg's Havelland district, Rhineland-Palatinate's Ahrweiler district, and Munich. The two additional suspects remain at large.
Ilona W. was to appear before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice, who will decide on pre-trial detention.
A broader pattern of Russian espionage in Germany
The arrest fits an accelerating pattern of Russian intelligence operations across Germany. In October, a Munich court sentenced a German-Russian dual national to six years in prison for scouting US military bases and railway hubs for potential sabotage. Three other men—citizens of Ukraine, Armenia, and Russia—face trial in Frankfurt for allegedly spying on a former Ukrainian soldier as part of a Russian-directed assassination plot.
Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Office for Military Counterintelligence provided the intelligence that led to Ilona W.'s arrest, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
The German government has accused Russia of conducting "a broad spectrum of activity" against Germany, including cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage, and election interference. German intelligence warns that Moscow may attempt to test NATO's Article 5 collective defense commitment—not necessarily with tanks, but through provocations designed to fracture Western unity.
