Russian special services created an agent network in European countries, in particular Germany, where they collected information about weapons being prepared for delivery to Ukraine and training of the Ukrainian military.
This is stated in the investigation of the German publication Spiegel, the Italian La Repubblica, the Russian Insider and the international investigative community Bellingcat.
Attention to Russian agents in Germany has increased dramatically since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Special services established that hackers attacked the headquarters of the "Green" party, as a result of which the attackers gained access to electronic mailboxes associated with Russia.
Some deputies from the "Greens" refused to work in the offices, on the advice of Germany's constitutional protection department, because they are located across the street from the Russian embassy, from where you can see what is happening there.
A confidential security document obtained by Spiegel warns that there may be "increased spying on state and parliamentary bodies" in Germany, including the chancellor's office, the ministries of foreign affairs, the economy, the interior and defense, as well as specialized committees of the Bundestag.
The special services believe that acts of sabotage in Germany are possible, which could be directed against the transportation of weapons to Ukraine. It cannot be ruled out that Russia could deliberately cause unrest in Germany - for example, by supplying explosives to terrorists or conducting "false flag attacks".
After the United States and Germany announced in the spring that Ukrainian soldiers would train on Western weapons such as the Panzerhaubitze 2000, German authorities spotted suspicious vehicles in front of military installations in Grafenwehr and Idar-Oberstein.
According to Spiegel's sources, scanners could be used to spy on Ukrainians' mobile phone data in Germany. In addition, mini-drones with cameras were spotted over the training areas.
In addition, German special services consider Russian dissidents and deserters who have fled to Germany since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine to be potentially dangerous. They do not rule out that the Russian Federation may organize attempts to kill them "to deter other dissidents."
Earlier, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said it expected an increase in Russian propaganda and espionage in the coming months.
