On October 14, 2024, the heads of Germany's intelligence agencies issued a stark warning regarding the escalating threat posed by Russia. During the annual Parliamentary Oversight Committee meeting in Berlin, leaders from the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) reported a significant rise in both quantitative and qualitative acts of espionage and sabotage attributed to Russian entities on German soil.
BfV Chief Thomas Haldenwang noted an aggressive pattern from Russian intelligence services, emphasizing that recent activities have reached unprecedented levels, which should serve as a wake-up call. He cited a suspicious incident in July at a DHL logistics center in Leipzig, where a package ignited before being loaded onto a delayed cargo plane, suggesting potential Russian sabotage.
BND Chief Bruno Kahl remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin has labeled Germany an enemy due to its continued support for Ukraine, which has been under Russian invasion for over two years. Kahl warned that a direct military confrontation with NATO could become a strategy for Russia by 2030, as Putin seeks to weaken the West and establish a new global order.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the German allegations, asserting that NATO's eastward expansion poses a threat to Russia. The German intelligence chiefs also highlighted security threats from China and Iran, as well as domestic challenges from Islamism and far-right extremism.
This warning from Germany followed a similar alert from British intelligence agency MI5 regarding threats from Russia, Iran, and affiliates of the Islamic State, particularly from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Additionally, a public inquiry in the UK revealed that a perfume bottle containing the lethal nerve agent Novichok, which fatally poisoned a British woman after the attempted assassination of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in July 2018, had enough poison to kill thousands.
During the inquiry, Skripal suggested that the Kremlin was behind the assassination attempt but acknowledged the lack of concrete evidence. Martina Rosenberg, head of the MAD, expressed concerns over increasing espionage and sabotage directed at the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces), especially in relation to arms deliveries to Ukraine.
The intelligence chiefs called for expanded powers to enhance their operational capabilities. Kahl criticized the government's plans to impose greater political oversight on intelligence services, warning that such measures could undermine efficiency, security, and freedom.
He advocated for improved information-sharing mechanisms between the BND and Bundeswehr, particularly in cybersecurity. Haldenwang also requested enhanced powers for monitoring telecommunications of dangerous groups and facilitating mass data analysis using artificial intelligence.
Under current German law, none of these requests can be accommodated. Rosenberg lamented that these restrictions hinder the military counterintelligence's ability to support the Bundeswehr battalion stationed in Lithuania, near the Russian border. Kahl concluded that the historical turning point proclaimed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz following the Russian invasion of Ukraine remains incomplete.