BERLIN: Germany’s domestic spy chief warned Monday that Russia could step up sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns next year when the EU’s top economy, a strong backer of Ukraine, holds several regional elections.
Sinan Selen, head of the BfV intelligence service, said in a Berlin speech that Germany was especially in Moscow’s sights because it is a central logistics hub of the NATO alliance on the continent.
Speaking later to AFP, Selen said about Russian disinformation campaigns that “we’ve repeatedly seen that elections play a very significant role here, and as you know we have several state elections in Germany next year.”
Russia is blamed by Western security services for a spate of drone flights, acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and online disinformation campaigns in Europe, which have escalated since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“We are being attacked here and now in Europe,” Selen said in a speech marking 75 years since the founding of the BfV, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
“In its role as a logistics hub for collective defense and support of Ukraine, Germany is more heavily targeted by Russian intelligence services than other countries,” he said.
“Above all Russia, as a hybrid actor, is undoubtedly aggressive, offensive and escalating. Its intelligence services employ a wide range of attack vectors from its toolbox.
“A clear sign of a highly dangerous escalation is the preparation and execution of sabotage attacks in Germany and other European countries, for which the Kremlin is considered the primary instigator. There is no sign of any relief in sight.”
Germany next year holds five regional elections, including in the ex-communist east, where the far-right and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) party hopes to make further strong gains.
Selen, speaking about hybrid threats, said that “every sector of society can be affected, and this will be especially true in the coming year.”
The course of the Ukraine war would also strongly influence the actions of Russia, which Selen said “can scale the intensity of its sabotage operations at will.”
Selen added that “this war of aggression is more than a struggle for Ukrainian territory, it is a litmus test in the ongoing systemic conflict between authoritarianism and democracy in a multipolar and complex world.”
German spy chief warns of Russia threat to 2026 regional polls
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German spy chief warns of Russia threat to 2026 regional polls
- Sinan Selen said hat Germany was especially in Moscow’s sights because it is a central logistics hub of the NATO alliance on the continent
Russia attacks two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels
- Kyiv says Russia used drones and missiles for strikes
- Moscow vowed retaliation for Kyiv’s attacks on tanker fleet
KYIV: Russia attacked two Ukrainian ports on Friday, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels including a ship carrying food supplies, Ukrainian officials and one ship owner said, days after Moscow threatened to cut “Ukraine off from the sea.”
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation against Kyiv’s maritime drone attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” tankers thought to be used to export oil, which Kyiv says is Russia’s main source of funding for its almost four-year-old war.
The attack on Friday came hours after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Putin that a limited ceasefire for energy facilities and ports could be beneficial.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photos which showed a large fire burning aboard a ship in the port of Chornomorsk in Odesa region, with firefighters tackling the blaze.
“This proves once again that Russians not only fail to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but also continue the war precisely to destroy normal life in Ukraine,” he said.
That vessel’s owner, Cenk Shipping, said the Cenk T vessel had been subject to attack around 1600 Ukraine time (1400 GMT).
There were no casualties among the crew, and damage was limited, it added.
Reuters verified the moment of the attack seen on a video published on X. The vessel in the clip matched Cenk T, and the cranes and buildings matched satellite imagery of the Chornomorsk port.
Fabian Hinz, research fellow for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the weapon seen was a Russian Geran-2 drone in its loitering configuration.
Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
“The strike is aimed at civilian logistics and commercial shipping,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
Navigation safety targeted
Russia attacked Ukrainian ports with drones and ballistic missiles, Kuleba added.
He said that one employee of a private company had been injured in a separate attack on Odesa port, and that a cargo loader had been damaged there.
Ukraine’s navy spokesperson told Reuters that three vessels were damaged in total, all Turkish-owned. But the spokesperson did not provide additional details.
Turkiye’s foreign ministry confirmed damage in the Chornomorsk port, adding that there were no reports of injured Turkish citizens.
Reuters was able to verify the vessel by the design and name of the bow that matched file imagery of the Cenk T vessel.
“We reiterate the need for an arrangement whereby, in order to prevent escalation in the Black Sea, attacks targeting navigational safety as well as the parties’ energy and port infrastructure are suspended,” the ministry’s statement said.
The three large Black Sea ports in the Odesa region are a key economic artery for Ukraine, which is a major commodities exporter.
In addition to the attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” tankers, Ukraine has ramped up pressure on Russia by hitting targets in the Caspian Sea this week, including vessels allegedly carrying military equipment and a major oil rig.
