dismantling of a spy community serving Putin and the Kremlin | EUROtoday
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Lhe raid by German safety providers the day earlier than yesterday within the quiet little Bavarian city of Bayreuth is worthy of a Cold War spy novel. The BKA (German intelligence) referred to as on a cell German police commando to hold out the operation final Wednesday. Two males suspected to spy on behalf of Moscow have been arrested.
Holders of twin nationality German-Russian Dieter S. (39 years outdated) and Alexander J. (37 years outdated) are accused of getting carried out reconnaissance in American navy installations based mostly on German territory with a view to launching sabotage operations, specifically to forestall transport of navy tools to Ukraine. It appears that they’ve succeeded in infiltrating the big American base at Grafenwöhr in Bavaria the place Ukrainian troopers are educated in the usage of American Abrams fight tanks. The dwelling and office of the 2 males had been searched. The choose ordered Dieter S. to be detained pending attainable indictment. Alexander J. should seem in digicam.
Dieter S. has allegedly been offering info to an agent of the Russian intelligence providers since October final yr. Dieter S. reportedly assured Russia that he was able to “commit explosive attacks, mainly against military infrastructure and industrial sites in Germany.” After efficiently getting into the websites in query, Dieter S. took photographs and filmed movies which he communicated to his Russian contact. Dieter S. was identified to the German safety providers. Between 2014 and 2016, he reportedly joined the separatist armed militia “Donetsk People’s Republic” in japanese Ukraine to struggle alongside him. Alexander J. joined him just a little later.
Germany on the coronary heart of the struggle
This case clearly illustrates the risk that Vladimir Poutine weighs on Germany, main supplier of navy support to Ukraine after the United States. Every yr, 1000’s of Ukrainian troopers bear coaching in Germany. Chancellor Scholz could attempt to preserve himself just a little away from the battle by making an attempt to ship Taurus missiles in kyiv, this espionage affair proves that, for Vladimir Putin, Germany may be very clearly concerned on this struggle.
Germany doesn’t intend to be “intimidated”, recalled Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. She will proceed this effort and her solidarity is not going to waver. “We know that the Russian power apparatus is also targeting our country,” mentioned Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. And we have to be decided to thwart this risk. »
A very severe matter
Nancy Faeser praised safety forces for efficiently thwarting attainable bomb assaults aimed toward undermining navy support to Ukraine. “This is a particularly serious case,” judges the minister, “of alleged espionage exercise on behalf of Putin’s prison regime. » She remembers that, because the Russian aggression towards Ukraine, the German safety providers have strengthened all the required measures to thwart such a risk. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, for her half, summoned the Russian ambassador at this time.
It's not the primary espionage case in Germany because the begin of the struggle in Ukraine. A former German secret service agent is presently on trial in Berlin for having, within the fall of 2022, transmitted categorized info to the Russian safety providers. Accusations that he continues to firmly deny. Another German, a Bundeswehr reserve officer, was convicted in November 2022 for passing info to Russian intelligence providers.
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Putin tries to recruit German-Russians
It appears that Vladimir Putin is making an attempt to recruit Russlanddeutsche established in Germany. Their ancestors had emigrated to Empress Catherine's Russia. Large communities of distant German origin lived within the Soviet Union earlier than the autumn of the Wall, significantly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
After the collapse of the USSR, they massively emigrated to Germany, making the most of the blood regulation in pressure on the time which routinely granted German nationality to those that had German ancestors and subsequently German blood of their veins. It may be very seemingly that Moscow is looking for to radicalize recruits inside this group, most frequently bilingual, socialized for older individuals within the USSR and possessing twin nationality.
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Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the very virulent spokesperson for the protection committee within the Bundestag, the German Parliament, confirms this suspicion: “When we see what number of Russian-Germans lined up in entrance of the consulate normal in Bonn throughout Russian presidential election in March and what number of enthusiastically sang about Putin, this feature is fully believable. » Strack-Zimmermann believes that Germany has been far too naive on this topic up to now.
More than 2 million Russian-Germans reside in Germany. Very hardworking and respectful of democracy, the overwhelming majority are completely built-in. They additionally signify the most important group of international origin throughout the Bundeswehr, the German military. But in addition they usually have reactionary and authoritarian concepts and cling to the visions of the far-right AfD celebration. Some are nonetheless very hooked up to Russia and assist Vladimir Putin who’s making an attempt to use them. The German arms trade now rigorously screens its German-Russian workers.
https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/allemagne-demantelement-d-un-reseau-d-espionnage-au-service-de-poutine-et-du-kremlin-19-04-2024-2558137_24.php