During the Cold War, divided Germany had been a center of activity for the Soviet intelligence service, the KGB. It worked closely with the Ministry of State Security of the GDR and had a huge center in Berlin-Karlshorst, which controlled and coordinated KGB activities throughout Europe. After German reunification, networks of the Foreign Intelligence Service remained active in Germany. Russian espionage in Germany has increased again since the beginning of the deterioration in relations between the NATO states and the Russian Federation after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, and more and more cases of Russian espionage have become publicly known. Following the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, espionage activities in the West are said to have reached or even exceeded Cold War levels.[1] According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the methods used by Russian services in Germany include cyberattacks, sabotage, disinformation campaigns, covert influence operations and secret operations. The main targets of Russian espionage include digital, military and other critical infrastructure, as well as politics, business, society and science.[2]
- ^ ""Katz-und-Maus-Spiel ist zurück": Russische Spionage-Aktivität im Westen jetzt "höher als im Kalten Krieg"". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ ""Toolbox Russland" – Russlands nachrichtendienstlicher Werkzeugkasten gegen Deutschland". Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. Retrieved 2024-07-03.