Germany arrests Ukrainian national accused of spying on defence firm

Germany arrests Ukrainian national accused of spying on defence firm German police on Thursday said that they had detained a Ukrainian national suspected of working as a low-level agent on behalf of a foreign spy agency. The 33-year-old was arrested on August 2, according to a statement issued by police in Bavaria. German police said Thursday they had arrested a 33-year-old Ukrainian national on suspicion of "taking footage of a Bavarian arms manufacturer in preparation for acts of sabotage". The unidentified man was arrested on August 2 in Thuringia state and is suspected of "acting as a so-called 'low-level agent' on behalf of an intelligence service of a foreign power", police in Bavaria said in a statement. They said that as part of his activities, he is believed to have taken images of the company in "June of this year and offered them to his handlers". He has been remanded in custody while he awaits trial. Read more'Disposable spies': Poland records unprecedented number of Russian espionage cases The investigation is being carried out under the auspices of a new national centre to coordinate defences against "hybrid attacks" which was opened in June. The centre is part of Germany's response to what officials say is a growing threat of sabotage, espionage and disinformation campaigns, particularly from Russia. On Wednesday, an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, in what Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called a "hybrid attack scenario" that spells "a new level of danger". (FRANCE 24 with AFP)