The German Federal Prosecutorʼs Office has charged a 57-year-old businesswoman with dual German and Ukrainian citizenship with spying for Russia. She has been under arrest for more than six months.
DW writes about this.
The prosecutorʼs office calls her Ilona V. According to the investigation, the woman ran a marketing agency in Berlin and also headed a lobbying association, thanks to which she had many contacts in military and political circles.
She has been in contact with a full-time Russian intelligence officer working at the Russian embassy in Berlin since at least October 2023. She has repeatedly provided him with information about high-profile events and helped organize access to them, in some cases under an assumed name.
According to the German prosecutorʼs office, the goal was to help a Russian intelligence officer create his own network of contacts for intelligence activities.
Ilona V. is also accused of personally attending events to identify useful contacts and potential targets. According to prosecutors, she tried to recruit people from the German Ministry of Defense and representatives of the defense industry.
Shortly after her arrest, Germany expelled a suspected Russian intelligence officer linked to the case. In response, Moscow expelled a German diplomat.
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