“It was wrong. I follow that attitude,” said the defendant, identified only as Thomas H. (Tomas H.).
A 54-year-old man is accused of passing on information he collected while working for the military procurement service.
Prosecutors say he photographed old training documents related to munitions systems and aircraft technology and placed the materials in a mailbox at the Russian consulate in Bonn.
In May 2023, the defendant “addressed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian Embassy in Berlin and offered to cooperate,” prosecutors said.
“He passed on information he obtained in the course of his professional activities to be passed on to the Russian intelligence service.”
The defendant said the charges against him were “substantially” accurate.
He disputed prosecutors’ claim that he had given the information to the Russian consulate on a CD.
Instead, he said the documents were printed and there was “nothing wrong” with them.
He added that this information was to confirm his status as a soldier.
Thomas H. explained that he was prompted to contact the Russian side by concerns about the possible escalation of the war in Ukraine.
Or rather, he was worried about the possibility that Berlin’s supply of heavy weapons systems to Ukraine would draw Germany into this conflict.
“Stupid Idea”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has cited this risk in recent months as a reason not to send longer-range missiles that Ukraine could use to hit targets in Russia itself.
The former soldier’s goal was to get information before a possible escalation of a nuclear conflict so he could get his family to safety in time, he said.
This apocalyptic preoccupation was what gave him the “stupid idea” to contact the Russian authorities.
Thomas H. also stated that he was disappointed by the government in Berlin and the perceived lack of concern for the safety of German citizens.
The suspect complained about his health after years of hard work in the military and long-term side effects of the coronavirus vaccine.
Various worries pushed him into a “vicious circle”, he said, adding that he could no longer justify his actions to himself.
Thomas H. is on trial in the western city of Dusseldorf, and the court hearings will continue until the end of June.
Before his arrest, he was a career soldier, working in the Army’s Equipment, Information Technology and Service Support Department, which employs about 12,000 people. people.
Media reports after his arrest suggested that Thomas H. had access to classified information because among the tasks entrusted to the department where he worked was the purchase of advanced electronic warfare systems.
These included technologies to monitor and jam adversary radio systems and disable enemy radio or air shield systems.
Germany’s domestic security agency (BfV) last year warned of the risk of an “aggressive Russian espionage operation” amid rising tensions between the West and Moscow.
