On Thursday, Germany summoned the Russian ambassador and announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat suspected of overseeing a woman who was arrested the day prior on espionage charges.

“The German government will not accept espionage within its borders—especially not under the protection of diplomatic immunity,” stated the German Foreign Ministry on social media platform X.

“We called in the Russian ambassador today to notify him of the expulsion of the individual involved, who engaged in spying for Russia,” the ministry clarified, referring to the alleged handler within the embassy.

The conflict in Ukraine has significantly escalated tensions between Moscow and Germany, a NATO ally that strongly supports Kyiv and accuses Russia of conducting drone surveillance, sabotage, and disinformation activities.

In a statement to AFP, the Russian Embassy labeled the accusations as “a ridiculous, hastily concocted provocation,” asserting, “We will not let Berlin’s unfriendly actions go unanswered.”

Details of the incident emerged on Wednesday when Berlin police apprehended the alleged spy, a German-Ukrainian businesswoman identified as Ilona W.

She is accused of leveraging connections with current and former employees of the German Defense Ministry to gather intelligence about military support for Ukraine, drone testing sites, and the arms sector.

Additionally, she allegedly assisted her Russian handler in using a false identity to attend political events in Berlin and establish valuable connections.

According to Der Spiegel, her handler was a member of Russia’s GRU military intelligence, serving under diplomatic cover as deputy military attaché.

Der Spiegel partially identified him as Andrei M. and reported that Berlin has instructed him to leave the country within 72 hours.

While visiting Ethiopia, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul remarked, “We have made it clear that this constitutes a hostile act and intelligence operations in our nation are entirely unacceptable, particularly under the cloak of diplomacy.”

He added, “The individual implicated at the Russian Embassy has been declared persona non grata effective immediately.”

“This demonstrates that we are vigilantly observing Russia’s actions and are taking steps against them. Russia’s aggressive behavior carries repercussions.”

The woman arrested on espionage charges appeared before a judge on Thursday, who ordered her to be held in custody.

She was recognized in political and business circles as part of an organization advocating for international collaboration, especially concerning issues related to Russia or Ukraine, according to an AFP source familiar with her background.

However, this source characterized her influence as relatively minor.

She was introduced to the Petersburger Dialog, a previously significant German-Russian discussion platform established in 2001, which has since lost relevance and eventually faded as German-Russian relations deteriorated amid increasing repression in Russia and the comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry confirmed that two former German military officials were still under investigation for allegedly providing sensitive information to Ilona W.

The two men—a recently retired officer and a former high-ranking civil servant—are believed to have used their connections within the German Armed Forces to share classified information with Ilona W. The spokesperson indicated that it remains uncertain whether they were aware that the information was being relayed to Russian intelligence, which is part of the ongoing investigation.