A Russian diplomat was found dead in Germany.
Der Spiegel, Germany's largest news website, said that the body of the secretary of the Russian embassy was found on the sidewalk in front of the embassy building in Berlin. According to preliminary reports, the diplomat fell out of a window.
The Russian Embassy refused to comment on the death of the Russian diplomat in Germany. A representative for the embassy said that such a decision was made for ethical reasons.
The name of the diplomat was not revealed. It was only said that he was a 35-year-old man.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of the Russian diplomat in Berlin.
Christopher Burger, an official spokesman for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, confirmed the death of the Russian diplomat.
"The ministry is aware of the incident, but I can not clarify any details due to provisions on the protection of personal data and information," he said.
According to Der Spiegel, the citizen of the Russian Federation could fall out of the window of a multi-storey building, which is part of the embassy complex. He could also fall victim to an attack.
UPDATE: The deceased Russian diplomat turned out to be the son of Lieutenant General Alexei Zhalo, the head of the Federal Security Bureau department for the protection of the constitutional order, The Kommersant said.
The diplomat, Kirill Zhalo, fell from one of the upper floors of the embassy building on Beren Strasse in Berlin's Mitte district. Since the summer of 2019, Kirill Zhalo served as the second secretary of the diplomatic mission. However, he was suspected to be an undercover secret service officer. At the same time, from November 1 to 4, his name was removed from the diplomatic list of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The body of the 35-year-old diplomat was sent to Russia. Moscow did not allow his autopsy to be carried out in Germany.