Germany increasingly aware of Russia's hybrid threats, response insufficient – ex-intelligence official

Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, former vice president of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Unfortunately, it is still very limited. Germany is no exception – this applies to most democratic countries in the EU and NATO," he said, when asked about Germany's preparedness to counter Russian disinformation and hybrid threats.

According to von Loringhoven, the only countries that are truly well-prepared are Ukraine and Moldova, "because they are under much greater pressure. Today we can learn a lot from them."

At the same time, he noted changes in the perception of the threat in Germany: "Public and political awareness of hybrid warfare and disinformation has increased significantly in Germany."

In particular, "the Federal Chancellor speaks openly about hybrid warfare, noting that we are no longer at peace, although we are not yet at war."

Von Loringhoven also pointed to the first institutional steps: "The newly established National Security Council already addressed hybrid threats in its first meeting. In addition, a federal government coordination center to counter hybrid attacks was initiated. The new BND president, Martin Jaeger, emphasized hybrid warfare at the Munich Security Conference. Overall, one can say that there have been significant changes at the level of rhetoric and public awareness."

However, he added, practical measures are still insufficient.

"Russia is not only not reducing its activity but acting increasingly aggressively. It is enough to recall the assassination plans against Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, sabotage incidents such as the DHL package in Leipzig, or attacks on railway infrastructure in Poland. In these cases, casualties were avoided only by a miracle – and apparently, they were Russia's intended targets," the expert said.

He stressed that the current approach does not work, so active measures are needed in addition to reactive ones.

"All of this shows: our deterrence does not work. Russia does not feel real consequences. The West reacts only reactively – by increasing resilience, cyber defense, or exposure. But most experts, including myself, are convinced that a combination of reactive and active measures, defensive and offensive actions, is necessary to deter and truly influence Russia's behavior," von Loringhoven said.

Since February 2022, Europe has documented 151 cases of sabotage, arson, attempted explosions, and other hybrid attacks linked to Russia.