The European Commission has fired a French-Ukrainian translator suspected of spying on a closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after Ukrainian diplomats said she had ties to Russian officials.
Le Monde writes about this.
The incident occurred on December 19, 2024, during a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, attended by President Zelensky. The meeting discussed EU support for Ukraine after President Trump came to power in the United States.
The Europeans promised to provide Ukraine with at least €30 billion in financial aid by 2025, much of it aimed at arms purchases and energy infrastructure protection. The meeting was held behind closed doors, with only the heads of state present. Translators were strictly forbidden from taking any written notes.
But the Czech interpreters noticed their colleague in the next booth transcribing the content of the discussions. They immediately notified security, who burst into the booth and caught the interpreter red-handed. They confiscated all her equipment and forced her to leave the premises. The same day, law enforcement officers launched an investigation, revoked the interpreter’s accreditation, and banned her from entering the European Commission premises.
When asked for comment by journalists, the woman said she was very surprised that she had been approached with such a trivial question. According to her, her current cooperation with NATO and French ministries indicates that it was simply a misunderstanding. She refused to comment on the illegal recording at the European Council, saying that everything related to the interpreterʼs work is classified.
The woman was born into a Russian family and lived in Ukraine with her sister, who was also a translator. The sisters worked as freelancers for about twenty years continuously for NATO, the European Commission, and the French Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.
Ukrainian diplomats in France and Brussels have for several years denied the translator access to visits by the Ukrainian president, citing her professional relationships with Russian officials.
The results of the internal investigation have been passed on to Belgian authorities, who will determine whether to continue the investigation and whether the alleged incidents are part of a Russian espionage operation.
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