Since the start of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, the danger of sabotage and other hybrid threats in Germany has significantly increased, likely linked to the Russian government.
This statement was made by Sonya Kock, a representative of Germany’s Ministry of the Interior, during a briefing in Berlin on Wednesday.
“Our security services have information about sabotage and other hybrid threats, which are most likely connected to the Russian government. Therefore, we can definitively state that the risk of sabotage or similar actions, including those by the Russian government, has notably risen in Germany since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The level of this threat also depends on the further development of Russia's invasion and Germany’s continued support for Ukraine,” Kock said.
She emphasized that the German government and its intelligence agencies are aware of Russia's “aggressive and shameless” actions, leading them to strengthen preventive measures in the country. Specifically, the security services have already prevented several potential attacks involving explosives, which were clearly aimed at Germany’s military support for Ukraine.
“We have always emphasized that we will continue to do everything in our power to prevent such plans and protect our country from Russian espionage, sabotage, and cyberattacks,” Kock added.
She also mentioned that Russian intelligence services had been weakened recently due to the expulsion of many agents. Since then, German intelligence agencies have been closely monitoring how Russian services recruit individuals who act as so-called low-level agents. These are people working on behalf of Russian intelligence or other state agencies, Kock explained.
German media outlets WDR, NDR, and Süddeutsche Zeitung published an investigation revealing potential sabotage involving incendiary devices in parcels from the German air freight service DHL. The investigation found that Russia's GRU was behind these acts. The authors identified individuals suspected of involvement in these acts, who were used as "one-time agents." European security agencies suspect that around 10 people were involved in these operations. During a confidential investigation, journalists were able to identify several suspects, including potential high-ranking GRU officials.
