Germany arrests Ukrainian and Russian on spying charges

German prosecutors said Friday they had arrested three men -- a Russian, a Ukrainian and an Armenian -- on suspicion of spying for a foreign intelligence service.

The three men were arrested in the western city of Frankfurt on Wednesday after allegedly trying "to gather information about a Ukrainian national", federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The men were only identified as Robert A. from Ukraine, Vardges I. from Armenia and Russian citizen Arman S.

Prosecutors did not specify which foreign secret service the men were allegedly working for, and declined to comment further when contacted by AFP.

"The three suspects were acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service in Germany," the statement said, adding that the trio had on June 19 "scouted a cafe in Frankfurt am Main where the target person was thought to be".

Germany has uncovered numerous espionage cases on its soil since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A former German intelligence officer is currently on trial in Berlin, accused of handing information to Moscow that showed Germany had access to details of Russian mercenary operations in Ukraine. He denies the charges.

Last month, a German former soldier was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Russian authorities for their part have levelled treason charges against dozens of people accused of aiding Ukraine and the West since the invasion.