Berlin — A German reservist went on trial in Düsseldorf on Thursday and was accused of providing classified military information to Russia.
Prosecutors alleged that a 65-year-old lieutenant colonel in the reserve, identified only as Ralph G. in line with German privacy regulations, had been active with Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency since 2014.
German news agency dpa reported that a man working for an American company provided the GRU with information from public and undisclosed sources, including personal contact details of high-ranking German military officers. did.
According to prosecutors, he also provided the GRU with “an overview of the security and defense policies of the United States and its Western allies.”
Federal prosecutors alleged that the defendants knew they were dealing with Russian spies and were motivated to help them out of sympathy for Russia.
German military counterintelligence became suspicious of the man’s activities in 2018, but his house was only raided two years later.
Dpa, citing a court spokeswoman for the Düsseldorf District Court, said the defendant had partially admitted the allegations against him to investigators ahead of the trial. The defendant’s attorney said his client would also publicly respond to the allegations during the trial.
Germany recently identified a suspected Russian spy on its territory.
