Increased acts of espionage and sabotage, direct military confrontation possible from 2030 with NATO: the German secret services showed alarmism on Monday in the face of the growing danger that, according to them, Moscow’s interference in Germany and Europe represents.
The three heads of the German intelligence services painted a bleak picture on Monday during their annual hearing before MPs. “It’s burning almost everywhere,” said the head of Domestic Intelligence (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, about the threats coming from outside – Russia, China, Iran – as well as from within with radical Islam and extreme right.
Intelligence officials have been particularly vocal about Moscow’s protean interference in Germany in the context of the war in Ukraine, to which Germany is the second largest arms supplier after the United States. “Whether we like it or not: we are in direct conflict with Russia,” declared the head of the German spy and counter-espionage services (BND), Bruno Kahl.
Parcel bomb?
“Russian espionage and sabotage are increasing in Germany, both quantitatively and qualitatively,” added Thomas Haldenwang. Germany has been rocked by several cases of alleged espionage for the benefit of Russia in particular since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In April, two men with Russian and German nationality were indicted for planning acts of sabotage for the benefit of Russia, including on a US army base, in order to undermine German aid to Ukraine.
Thomas Haldenwang has accused Moscow of being behind the case of a package which caught fire at a center of the carrier DHL in Leipzig (east) in July before its planned transport by plane. If the package “had exploded on board during the flight,” he said, “there would have been a crash and the debris could have affected all the people here in Germany who sympathize with Putin and his regime, openly and secretly.” Haldenwang also mentioned disinformation campaigns and cases of spy drone use.
From a “storm”, the Russian threat has “become a real hurricane” which moves “from east to west”, he added in a metaphor with the Baltic States and Poland, where Russian actions “are very more brutal than they are now here.”
“Testing the West’s red lines”
The president of the Military Counterespionage Service (Bamad), Martina Rosenberg, reported a “significant increase in acts of espionage and sabotage” targeting the German army. Moscow is thus seeking in particular to find out about “deliveries of German arms to Ukraine” and to “create a feeling of insecurity”, according to it.
The Kremlin “is preparing for a further escalation in terms of hybrid and secret actions,” said Bruno Kahl. With these acts of interference of an “unprecedented level”, the Kremlin wants to “test the red lines of the West”, estimated the director of the secret services. For him, Russia will “probably” be able “to carry out an attack against NATO at the end of this decade”. “A direct military conflict with NATO is becoming an option for Russia,” he said.
In an interview with the daily Handelsblatt, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser criticized Moscow for acting “in an ever more aggressive manner”. German services “prevented possible explosive attacks” and “demonstrated just a few months ago the seriousness of the threat” from Russia, she also said.
In July, the American channel CNN reported that the United States and Germany had foiled an assassination plan attributed to Russia against the boss of the German industrial group Rheinmetall which supplies arms to Ukraine. Accusations rejected by Moscow. In August, fears of sabotage prompted security alerts at two military bases in Germany.
At the same time, the German government announced on Wednesday measures aimed at strengthening security controls, particularly on social networks, in the face of increased risks of espionage in ministries and sabotage of critical infrastructure.
