German intelligence tried to recruit a Russian activist at Berlin airport, anti-war group says. She refused — and was later barred from entering the Schengen area.

The Russian activist, whose identity is protected by Andrei Pivovarov of the Russian Anti-War Committee, was denied entry into the Schengen area after declining to cooperate with German intelligence, according to Pivovarov. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) approached the woman upon her arrival at a Berlin airport, inviting her to discuss potential collaboration and signing a cooperation agreement.

She declined the offer. Subsequently, she was added to a list of individuals barred from entering the Schengen zone. The connection between the refusal and the ban remains uncertain, with no separate verification of the claims. Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo stated that the airport incident occurred several months prior, and the activist only discovered the ban upon her attempt to enter the Schengen area in another country, where she was issued a document attributing the restriction to a "threat to national security" initiated by Germany.

Previous reports by independent Russian outlets Holod and iStories detailed similar instances at Berlin airport, involving Russians invited to converse about the Russian situation and their perspectives on the Ukraine war. German police clarified that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) manages such operations.

According to Russian law, unauthorized cooperation with foreign entities threatening Russia's security could result in criminal penalties, including up to eight years in prison. Meduza, in its pursuit of transparency, acknowledges the utilization of AI in its editorial process, with an English-language version of the story reviewed by a journalist before publication.