Germany's intelligence chief warns of conflict risk with Russia

Germany risks being drawn into an armed conflict with Russia — that warning was sounded at a public hearing of the parliamentary committee overseeing Germany's intelligence services. It came from Jäger, head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), who said no other country today poses such a direct, comprehensive and concrete threat to Germany as Russia.

The drone attack in Leipzig

As a specific example, Jäger cited the failed drone attack on Leipzig airport: in August, a drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane loaded with ammunition there. According to the German government, the Kremlin was behind the attack. “We did not seek this confrontation. Russia is forcing it on us and considers us its principal adversary,” the intelligence chief said.

According to Jäger, Germany has become a target for Moscow precisely because of its support for Ukraine in the war, which runs counter to Russia's “revisionist, expansionist policy.” “Those who do not submit become an enemy — that is how Moscow sees it,” he added.

Putin under pressure

Jäger linked a possible escalation of the conflict to the fact that Putin is currently under serious pressure. “Russia is in a dire economic situation. Even the war in Ukraine is not going according to Moscow's plan. President Putin has passed the point where he can simply halt the assault on Ukraine without risking his own hold on power at home. He needs a success in Ukraine that would justify, from Russia's point of view, the enormous sacrifices already made. That puts him under pressure,” the BND chief said.

A shadow war against Germany

Jäger expects Russia to try to “bring Ukraine to its knees” this winter. At the same time, Moscow is working to disrupt the production and supply of weapons and military equipment, and to break down political support for Ukraine in the West.

According to Jäger, Germany needs to prepare for new attempts at intimidation — “new nuclear threats will likely follow”. He reiterated the long-standing position of Western intelligence services: Russia is not yet preparing for a large-scale attack on NATO territory, but could test the alliance's cohesion with a limited strike on one of the border states. Jäger did not rule out the possibility of Russian false-flag provocations either.

“The Russian leadership wants to ensure that Berlin and other European capitals no longer make political decisions against Moscow in the future. Russia is waging a shadow war against us. The threat of attacks on targets in Germany remains real and current. We have to take that into account,” the head of German intelligence concluded.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz