German soldier charged with spying for Russian secret service

Germany's public prosecutor has charged a German soldier with suspected espionage for allegedly providing information to a Russian secret service agency.
According to statements made on Tuesday, the Karlsruhe authorities also accuse the man of violating official secrecy. It did not provide any details.
The security division of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court must now decide whether a trial will take place.
According to the statement, the accused had worked as a professional soldier at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).
The Koblenz-based institution is responsible for equipping the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, with equipment and weapons as well as developing, testing and procuring defence technology.
From May 2023, the man is said to have offered to cooperate with the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin on several occasions - on his own initiative.
"On one occasion, he passed on information that he had obtained in the course of his professional activities to a Russian intelligence service for forwarding," the statement said.
Officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office detained the accused in Koblenz on August 9. He has been in custody since then. At that time, officers also searched the accused's home and workplace.
The investigations were conducted in close cooperation with the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) and Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the public prosecutor announced at the time.
This is not the first case of suspected espionage for Russia since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine in February 2022.
In Berlin, a former employee of the foreign intelligence agency (BND) is on trial on treason charges before the Court of Appeal. Carsten L. is alleged to have passed on secret information to a Russian intelligence service. The content is said to be a state secret within the meaning of the Germany's criminal code.
The German security authorities have stepped up their efforts to combat espionage by Russian services. Other European states are too and have expelled Russian agents since the war's start.