Russia is increasingly turning to blackmail and financial initiatives to enlist Germans to spy for it after the expulsion of some 600 Russian diplomats from Europe dealt a blow to its intelligence services, Germany's internal security service said.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said that Russian intelligence services are spending a lot of money recruiting agents in Germany despite Western efforts to limit their operations since Moscow invaded Ukraine, Reuters reported.
"Russia is working hard to compensate for the reduction in the number of Russian agents in Germany, which was implemented by the German government," said BfV chief Thomas Haldenwang at a press conference to present the agency's annual report.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a sobering experience for many in the German security establishment after years in which Berlin tried to bind Moscow to the international legal order through a web of trade and especially energy ties.
Two German citizens, who were charged with high treason last August for spying for Russia, were each paid around 400.000 euros for their services, the BfV said.
"Agents' fees demonstrate that Russian and intelligence agencies continue to have vast financial resources to pursue their intelligence goals," the report added.
Germans who lived in Russia or traveled there regularly, including German diplomats who are easily made vulnerable to blackmail attempts, are particularly at risk of being recruited by Russian security services.
"As soon as they receive compromising information about their targets, these services do not hesitate to use aggressive recruitment techniques," the BfV report said.
NATO this month reiterated its concerns about Russian spying and called for tougher measures in response to what it said was a campaign of hostile activity, including sabotage and cyber attacks. Germany is one of the 32 member states of NATO.
Ultra-right
Reuters reports that Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 was a sobering experience for many in the German security establishment after years in which Berlin tried to bind Moscow to the international legal order through a web of trade and especially energy ties.
A recent surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the authoritarian left-wing BSW party has also contributed to significant scrutiny, Reuters added, noting that both parties often echo the Kremlin's views on the war, including their opposition to providing Ukraine with weapons for defense.
The number of ultra-right and ultra-left extremists increased again last year by 4,6 percent and 1,4 percent respectively to 40.600 and 37.000, according to the BfV report, which contributed to the public discourse moving away from factual debate towards "aggressive confrontation".
The BfV said Russia had proved flexible in finding ways to influence events in Germany even after its media channels were banned and 600 of its diplomats stationed across Europe were expelled.
Some of those influence efforts have shifted to the Telegram platform, which is difficult to control, while spies are now tied to international organizations. Russian officials tasked with managing informants now travel to do so instead of having a permanent base in Germany.
Far-right groups are also receptive audiences for Russian influence operations. This includes the Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) conspiracy theorists, some of whom are now on trial for plotting a coup against Germany's democratic order, for which they sought Russian support.
Among the new conspiracy theories circulating in right-wing circles, according to the BfV, is the baseless belief that the war in Ukraine is aimed at creating a depopulated wasteland in the east of the country, where the population of Israel could be resettled. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, being Jewish, is said to have been falsely portrayed as one of the conspirators.
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