The military counter-intelligence service sees a growing danger of espionage and warns the soldiers and civilian employees of the Bundeswehr. In addition, Russian services are said to be targeting the training of Ukrainians on weapons in Germany.
The President of the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) has warned of an increasing threat of espionage from Russia. The threat situation and threat analysis changed with the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine on February 24, said MAD President Martina Rosenberg in an interview with the Bundeswehr format “Nachgefrage” that was distributed on Friday.
“Especially due to the training of Ukrainian armed forces here in Germany, but also due to the arms deliveries to Ukraine, interest in Germany as a hub and as a logistical hub has of course increased again.” If a drone flies over an ammunition depot or over a training facility where Ukrainian forces are being trained, possibilities for espionage and sabotage must be carefully examined.
German secret service expert: “Have brilliant security problem”
Russian secret services are said to have already tried to spy on the training of Ukrainian soldiers on western weapon systems in Germany, the “Spiegel” reported. The MAD had noticed suspicious vehicles in the vicinity of the military locations Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate and Grafenwöhr in Bavaria, from which access roads to the barracks were probably observed. Training sites were repeatedly flown over with small drones. Security circles also suspect that the Russian services could have tried to spy on the Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile phone data with radio scanners. The Bundeswehr trained Ukrainian soldiers in Idar-Oberstein on the “Panzerhaubitze 2000”, in Grafenwoehr the US armed forces trained Ukrainians on western artillery systems.
The Greens politician and secret service expert Konstantin von Notz identified deficits in German counterintelligence. “We were inattentive and didn’t pay attention to the details. And now we have a tremendous security problem,” he told the “Spiegel”. Germany largely stopped its counter-espionage activities after reunification, “while other countries simply carried on as they did during the Cold War,” said the chairman of the parliamentary control body that oversees the work of the federal secret services.
According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), the threat has recently intensified. “With the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the threat posed by Russian espionage, disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks has taken on another dimension,” said Faeser.
There is also a case of espionage in Italy
The Bellingcat research network reported extensively on Thursday about a suspected case of espionage in Italy. An agent of the Russian military intelligence service is said to have gained access to NATO and military circles in Italy. Other possible targets include members of the opposition who have fled to Germany from Russia, deserters and defectors.
The last MAD annual report was already written for the year 2020. “A significant increase in capabilities was again observed, particularly in the intelligence services of the Russian Federation, China and Iran, but also in the intelligence services of other countries with Germany as their reconnaissance target,” it says. In addition to traditional methods of espionage, “modern hybrid measures to influence public opinion” have also been identified.
Source: Stern
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