A German court on Wednesday sentenced a Russian researcher to a one-year suspended prison sentence for spying on Europe's Ariane space launcher project.
The man, identified by the court only as Ilnur N., handed over information on research projects, including the Ariane Next launcher, to a handler from Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on several occasions between 2019 and 2021, according to the court verdict.
The trial casts a spotlight on Russian intelligence activity in the West, which has introduced sweeping sanctions against Russia over what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, launched on Feb. 24.
