2023-07-07 15:20:23
Military support to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian attack has fueled espionage activities by Russia against German forces. This can be found in the report of the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) for the years 2021 and 2022. The report states that “the Russian intelligence services’ interest in reconnaissance on German soil is taking on a completely new dimension, primarily as a result of the Bundeswehr’s transport of ammunition, weapons and materials to Ukraine, but also because of the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany.”
That is why the commitment of the service to protect German armed forces on the eastern flank of NATO has “expanded considerably,” writes MAD President Martina Rosenberg in the report.
From this it can be gathered that the Russian espionage activities in Germany, which had been “well-functioning and well-rehearsed up to that point, had been weakened after the federal government had declared 40 Russian diplomats “undesirable persons”. However, the Russian intelligence services would “almost certainly” try to compensate for a “lasting impairment” by using other methods of information gathering.
Attacks are growing
In addition to Russia, China has also spied intensively again. According to the MAD report, both countries were “again identified as the most active actors in espionage against the Bundeswehr” last year. The Chinese services use joint activities with the Bundeswehr, such as training aids, some of which lasted several months “intensively to obtain information”.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 13 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 20
While the fight against extremist efforts in the Bundeswehr has been the priority for the MAD in recent years, the number of cases in 2022 fell for the first time compared to the previous year and fell from 688 to 390. The number of attacks on the Bundeswehr – from anti-constitutional letters to serious arson – has been growing continuously since 2020. According to the MAD report, 381 “shielding-related actions” were still identified in 2021, compared to 486 last year.
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