Ukraine claims it warned Germany it was ‘vulnerable’ to Russian spies

Germany is awash with a new generation of Russian spies and its officials were warned many times that they were ‘vulnerable’ to espionage, Ukraine’s national ­security adviser has disclosed.

Germany is awash with a new generation of Russian spies and its officials were warned many times that they were “vulnerable” to espionage before the ­interception of a military conference call, Ukraine’s national ­security adviser has disclosed.

Oleksiy Danilov, who co-­ordinates the country’s war cabinet, said he believed Moscow’s spy network in Germany ran so deep that Russia had been able to obtain other conversations that could be damaging to the West.

“We have made multiple warnings to our German partners about the spy network of Russians that are very active in Germany,” he told The Times.

“It is well known the Russians are listening to conversations of German officials and we think this is not the last conversation they have.”

Relations between NATO ­allies have become fraught after Russian state media obtained and published a recording of a 38-minute conversation between senior officers in the German air force who set out the details of a British troop presence on the ground in Ukraine.

Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov. Picture: Genya Savilov/AFP

During the call, the officers implied that Britain had been sending personnel to help Ukrainians operate donated Storm Shadow missiles. As a ­result of the leak, the UK Ministry of Defence has had to review its security for all British military personnel in Ukraine, according to a British defence source speaking anonymously.

Officially, British soldiers in Ukraine are providing only diplomatic protection and medical training.

The leak has caused acute embarrassment to Berlin, leading prominent figures in Britain, including former defence secretary Ben Wallace, to say the interception demonstrated the Germans “are neither secure nor reliable”.

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

Miguel Berger, Germany’s ambassador to Britain, said his comments were “irresponsible” and “played into the Russian narrative”.

Speaking via video call from Ukraine, Mr Danilov said before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there were many spies in Germany and the sons and daughters of Cold War operatives were now active in the country.

“We think Germany is very vulnerable to Russian influence,” he said. “It is related to their ... past heritage.”

Vladimir Putin's feared Black Sea fleet headquarters was blitzed last September by a suspected Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile attack.

He said the Ukrainians had “drawn their attention” to the Russian spy network in Germany in every meeting with German MPs and officials.

They had also warned of the “consequences” of not having secure communications.

Mr Danilov said Britain, by comparison, had incredibly secure communications. He paid tribute to the role the UK had played in helping Ukraine so far, saying Britain would have played a “direct part” in a future Ukrainian victory.

Germany has stressed that the leaked military call was an isolated incident rather than a wider issue of communications being compromised.

A preliminary inquiry revealed one participant, who was in Singapore, failed to comply with security protocols and ­dialled in on a “non-secure data line”, implying a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.

The Times