The military intelligence service MAD is once again placing national and alliance defense capabilities at the center. Defense against spying and possible attacks has become more important.
Cologne/Berlin – It’s about supply routes for weapons and ammunition, operational tactics in the Ukraine war – and also sabotage in Germany: Russian secret services have increased and changed their espionage in this country. This is evident from the new annual report of the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), which was published on Thursday.
According to MAD, it is now of vital interest to the Russians what military aid Germany provides to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. It concerns transport routes and the use of Western weapons systems in Ukraine itself.
As a result, the primarily strategic interest of the Russian services in military policy and strategy in Germany has “increasingly shifted to the tactical level,” the report states. “For the Russian side, it is crucial to obtain information that gives its own armed forces an advantage on the battlefield.”
Possible sabotage remains a serious threat
The Bundeswehr’s own capabilities for national and alliance defense have also become the focus of Russian intelligence services again. It continues: “In addition, reconnaissance and possible sabotage of critical infrastructure and defense-critical facilities in Germany remain a serious threat.”
MAD President Martina Rosenberg writes in the report: “Together we are faced with the great task of strengthening the capabilities to defend against existing threats.” And: “The central goal is to make the Bundeswehr capable of fighting war.”
“Lack of budgetary resources”: three-digit number of posts vacant
The MAD is the smallest of the German intelligence services, reports to the Ministry of Defense and is based in Cologne. The Federal Office is responsible for protecting the armed forces from espionage, fending off extremists and conducting security checks on soldiers and civilian employees.
The MAD has been given additional positions to carry out its tasks, but some positions are not filled due to a lack of funds. As of January 1, 2024, the MAD has had 2,131 posts (2023: 1,917). The report states that “lack of budgetary resources” prevents the filling of a “lower three-digit number of posts”.
New extremism theme: support for Putin’s war
The military intelligence service is also recording an increasing number of new cases in the Bundeswehr in which suspicions of extremism are being clarified. For 2023, there will be an increase in new case processing to 483 – compared to 390 in the previous year.
In the area of right-wing extremism, 308 new cases were processed last year. In 2022, 278 new suspected cases were brought to light. In recent years, several incidents have become known that have caused a big stir.
Russia’s war against Ukraine also opened up a new field of topics in the area of foreign-related extremism, where there was a significant increase to a total of 65 new suspected cases (2022: 18). “A large proportion of the new admissions result from advocacy and/or support of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which violates international law,” the report says.
This is an indication of extremist efforts, as it violates the idea of international understanding and peaceful coexistence between peoples. The report does not provide a specific classification of the cases. Military circles recently said that there is a worrying level of support for Putin’s aggressive course among Russian-German or Russian-born soldiers.
In 2023, according to the report, 14 people were classified as recognized extremists, including 6 so-called Reich citizens, 5 right-wing extremists and 3 people for delegitimizing the state in a way that is relevant to the protection of the constitution. In 2022, a total of 12 recognized extremists were identified: 7 right-wing extremists, 3 “Reich citizens”, one left-wing extremist and one case of foreign extremism.
Additional task: Protection of the German brigade in Lithuania
The need to “refocus” the capabilities of the Bundeswehr – including the MAD – on national and alliance defense is growing, the report says. Conceptual and planning bases are also being created for alliance scenarios and agreed with the partners’ intelligence services. It was also decided to set up an MAD office in the NATO country of Lithuania with the planned stationing of a combat-ready brigade by 2027.
Foreign intelligence services want advantage over Germany
“Espionage and its defence are basically a ‘quiet’ business,” writes the MAD, which tends to avoid the public. Foreign intelligence services (“AND”) work in secret and try to obtain information that is politically, economically or militarily relevant as inconspicuously as possible. The military intelligence service states: “Even if espionage is romanticised in a variety of films and series and described as an adventure, foreign states pursue hard goals with their activities in order to gain decisive advantages over the Federal Republic of Germany and its allies.” dpa
#Espionage #sabotage #Military #intelligence #warns #Russians