1: german authorities have arrested an employee of its bnd foreign intelligence agency, carsten l, on suspicion of passing state secrets to russia. he was arrested in berlin on wednesday and authorities searched his flat, workplace, and the home of another person. foreign intelligence chief bruno kahl said releasing more details about the case could be of use to moscow.
2: the arrest warrant for carsten l was issued on 16 december and chancellor olaf scholz was informed of developments several weeks ago. this comes after germany had pursued a policy of using trade and energy to build bridges with moscow before the 24 february invasion. in recent weeks, germany is one of several european states that have arrested suspected russian spies, including norway accusing an academic of spying for russia and sweden arresting two swedish brothers and a man in his 60s.
3: earlier this year, a german army reserve officer was put on trial, accused of sharing information with russian intelligence between 2014 and 2020. this is the first time a bnd employee has been arrested for suspected treason since markus reichel was detained in 2014. germany has since become one of moscow’s biggest critics in europe, boosting defence spending and reducing russian energy imports. it is unclear why carsten l is suspected of sharing information with russia this year, but it is likely related to the tensions between the two countries.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-64069977?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
