The federal public prosecutor announced that, on Tuesday, a Romanian national and a Ukrainian national were arrested. The suspects are “urgently suspected of working for a foreign intelligence service” the General Prosecutor said.
The Romanian woman was taken into custody in Rheine, North Rhine‑Westphalia, by special forces of the state police and officers from the Bavarian Criminal Investigation Office (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt). The Ukrainian man was arrested in Elda, Alicante, Spain, by Spanish authorities. In both cases, the suspects’ homes were searched.
According to the European Arrest Warrant issued by the investigatory judge of the Federal Court of Justice, the Ukrainian is alleged to have spied on a German individual from December 2025 onward, acting on behalf of a Russian intelligence agency. The target is said to be a person who supplies drones and related components from Germany to the Ukraine. The Ukrainian is accused of collecting information online and filming the target’s workplace.
When the Ukrainian relocated to Spain, the Romanian, according to the same warrant, took over his assignment no later than March 2026. She allegedly visited the target’s address and recorded the location with a mobile phone, activities that may have prepared further intelligence operations against the target.
The Romanian is scheduled to appear before the investigatory judge of the Federal Court of Justice this Wednesday, where a warrant for her arrest will be issued and a decision on preventive detention will be taken. The Ukrainian will be presented to the judge after his transfer from Spain.
The case has been handled in cooperation with the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, while the Bavarian Criminal Investigation Office is responsible for the police investigations.