Germany charges Russian citizen suspected of space tech espionage
BERLIN, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Germany last year arrested and charged a Russian citizen with spying for Russia, prosecutors said on Thursday, alleging he had passed information on Europe's Ariane space launcher vehicle to handlers from Russian intelligence.
Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Ilnur N., worked as a researcher at a Bavarian university until his arrest in June last year. He has been in custody since and was charged on Dec. 9.
The arrest casts a spotlight on Russian intelligence activity in Germany even as Berlin faces pressure from Western allies to take a more robust stance in support of Ukraine as Russian forces mass on its borders.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) first approached the suspect no later than autumn of 2019, the prosecutors said in a statement, adding he had told the SVR he was prepared to cooperate with them.
"The agency's interests particularly focused on the various stages in the development of the European space launcher Ariane and the accused's research into tools," the prosecutors said.
