A Bundeswehr officer has tried three times to contact the Russian consulate on the issue of nuclear weapons

According to the publication, the 54-year-old German officer was prompted to contact the Russian consulate by a message – possibly “TikTok” – but he does not remember exactly which one.

In May 2023, the accused, who worked as a Bundeswehr officer in the information technology and technical support office in Koblenz, stored many files with “security-sensitive information” on his laptop and photographed six training documents of the German Air Force. He delivered the package of documents to the Russian consulate in Bonn and asked to contact him. However, no answer was received.

He then made two further attempts to contact the Russian consulate by email using the pseudonym “Michael Müller”, but these messages also went unanswered.

During the court hearing, the defendant claimed that he was in a very bad psychological state and wanted to communicate with the Russian side because “he was afraid of the escalation of the war in Ukraine,” writes Der Spiegel. His goal, he said, was “to give the Russian armed forces an advantage against the background of the current political situation.” The accused said at the Dusseldorf court that he regrets his actions and “sees a mistake in it”.

The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced that Bundeswehr officer Thomas H. was arrested on suspicion of espionage for Russia in August 2023. The report states that the suspect contacted the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian Embassy in Berlin several times, offering his services, and once handed over the information.