German military officer says nuclear fears led him to spy for Russia
A German military officer with ties to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has confessed to providing information to a Russian intelligence service.
He was driven by fear of a nuclear escalation of the Ukraine war, the 54-year-old testified at the first day of his trial before the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court on Monday.
The defendant, who holds the rank of captain, had worked at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).
The Koblenz-based institution is responsible for equipping the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, with equipment and weapons as well as developing, testing and procuring defence technology.
From May 2023, the man is said to have offered to cooperate with the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin on several occasions and on his own initiative.
Prosecutors say the defendant, who is identified only as Thomas H due to Germany's strict privacy laws, handed over information with the intent it be used by Russian intelligence. There are no indications that he received money in return.
Around the same time, he had contacted the AfD and applied for membership. According to the court, his application for membership was authorized in July 2023.
A message "presumably on TikTok" had prompted him to contact the Russian consulate, he said.
The officer admitted that he had followed a pro-Russian, AfD-affiliated influencer on TikTok at the time. However, he could not remember exactly which message it was.
He said he was concerned with being able to get his family to safety in the event of a nuclear attack. He had sought contact with the Russian side to find out in good time "when it was going to go off."
"I only saw this way," the officer told the court.
He said he regrets his action and, looking back, sees it as a mistake, adding that he was in a bad mental state at the time.
As a captain in the Bundeswehr, the 54-year-old was responsible for electronic warfare systems, said a representative of the federal prosecutor's office during the reading of the indictment. His aim had been to "give the Russian armed forces an advantage against the background of the current political situation."
Germany has been one of Ukraine's biggest military supporters in the face of Russia's ongoing invasion. The country's security authorities say they have stepped up their efforts to combat espionage by Russian services.
Federal police officers took the captain into custody in Koblenz last August. Prosecutors pressed charges in March.
