High-ranking representative of Russia to the EU is suspected of espionage ‘This idea scares people’

Russia’s current highest representative to the EU is suspected of espionage.

According to findings by the Belgian secret service VSSE, diplomat Kirill Logvinov would not only work for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also for the Russian foreign intelligence service SWR, as several sources confirmed to the German news agency in Brussels on Tuesday. According to his resume, he previously worked at the Russian Embassy in Berlin between 2010 and 2014.

“Spiegel” and several other European media reported on the case on Tuesday. The first reports of the suspicion were already made in the summer of last year.

Exact espionage activity unclear

When asked what kind of work Logvinow may have done or is still doing for the SWR, no answer was given on Tuesday. “We do not comment on this,” a spokesperson for the VSSE secret service told dpa in response to a question about the case.

Today, espionage is not just about secretly obtaining information. This also includes activities in the field of unwanted political or social influence. This can happen, for example, through the targeted dissemination of false information in the host country.

The 48-year-old Logvinov has been Russia’s highest representative to the EU as charge d’affaires since September 2022. The position of official ambassador has been vacant since Vladimir Chizhov was recalled to his home country last year after about 17 years as Russia’s ambassador to the EU. Relations between Brussels and Moscow had previously reached a low point due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When asked why Logvinov was not asked to leave the country due to suspicions of espionage, the responsible EU foreign service did not give a clear answer on Tuesday. A spokesperson simply pointed out that measures had been put in place ‘to continually assess the extent of the threat’.

He also recalled that in April last year, nineteen Russian diplomats had already been declared persona non-gratae by the EU. At the time, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell justified this by saying the people were taking part in activities that contradicted their diplomatic status. (sda/dpa)