Germany’s military counterintelligence agency, MAD, has warned of a sharp rise in espionage attempts and hybrid threats by Russian intelligence services, drawing parallels to Cold War-era hostilities. On July 21, MAD head Martina Rosenberg stated that Moscow’s tactics have become both more aggressive and more extensive, with an expanded arsenal of covert tools including cyberattacks, drone surveillance, sabotage operations, and disinformation campaigns targeting critical German infrastructure.
Hybrid incidents nearly double as Russia targets military and diaspora links
According to Deutsche Welle, the number of suspicious hybrid incidents has nearly doubled over the past year. Russian operatives reportedly exploit third countries to enter Germany undetected, while focusing recruitment efforts on individuals with Russian heritage, dual nationals, and ethnic German returnees. The MAD chief also flagged that German soldiers traveling to Russia or its allied states face increasing coercion to collaborate with Russian intelligence.
Bundestag and political parties face relentless cyberattacks
The warning from MAD follows a July 20 statement by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, who revealed that the lower house of Germany’s parliament is under constant assault by pro-Russian cyber actors. In recent years, German federal prosecutors have repeatedly accused Russian hackers of targeting the offices of all major political parties. Now, as Klöckner noted, these cyberattacks have escalated both in scale and persistence, prompting urgent calls for enhanced cyber defenses.
Kremlin accused of weaponizing migration and election interference
Berlin has previously identified Russian state activity as a multidimensional threat. The Interior Ministry has pointed to deliberate disinformation, espionage, and attempts to manipulate migration flows as tools used by Moscow to destabilize German society—especially during elections. Officials suspect the Kremlin actively encourages refugee flows to Europe as a strategic pressure mechanism, while also seeking to fuel social tensions and energy insecurity.
Germany strengthens countermeasures and ties Russian actions to Ukraine war
In response to escalating Russian threats, German security agencies have expanded units dedicated to countering fake news, reinforced electoral safeguards, and increased surveillance on energy infrastructure. With the deployment of up to 5,000 Bundeswehr troops to Lithuania as part of NATO’s eastern flank defense, MAD anticipates further intensification of Russian hybrid operations. Rosenberg warned that this military presence could make Germany a more prominent target for Russian intelligence.
Officials in Berlin view the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign not as an isolated issue, but as an extension of Russia’s war on Ukraine. As Eurointegration notes, German politicians repeatedly emphasize that supporting Ukraine is also a matter of national security. Even if a peace deal is eventually reached between Kyiv and Moscow, Western intelligence expects Russian hybrid activities to continue unabated.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, the German government has accelerated defense investment, prioritizing emerging technologies such as AI, drones, quantum systems, and cyber capabilities to bolster resilience against Moscow’s evolving threat landscape.
