Germany is facing an escalating wave of Russian hybrid attacks, including the use of drones, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and coordinated disinformation campaigns. Security officials emphasize that, despite the growing threat, Germany is not defenseless.
At a recent security forum in Wiesbaden, German Army Colonel and military strategist Sönke Marahrens underscored the difficulty of defining modern conflict. “If a Russian submarine attacked and sank a German corvette, it would clearly be war. But what if metal debris was thrown into the ship’s machinery, disabling it—would that be war?” he asked. His example refers to a real sabotage incident involving the German Navy corvette Emden earlier this year.
A Surge of Hybrid Operations Across Europe
European security agencies report a sharp increase in hybrid attacks. Military officers, police officials, politicians, and researchers all warn that the situation has become critical.
“We are seeing cyberattacks, sanctions evasion, and arson on a scale never witnessed before,” said Silke Willems from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
Identifying perpetrators remains challenging, as attacks often appear to fall into a “grey zone” that blurs the line between state-backed operations, criminal activity, and ordinary infrastructure failures. According to investigators, Russia deliberately exploits this ambiguity to complicate the response of affected countries.
Cyber Warfare and Low-Level Operatives
German authorities say Russia increasingly relies on low-level agents who carry out cyber intrusions or sabotage without fully knowing who is directing them.
“These individuals are often young men with criminal records, many of whom emigrated from the former Soviet Union,” explained Holger Münch, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Many are recruited through the Russian social media platform Telegram, he added.
Despite the sophistication of these distributed attacks, Münch insists that Germany has strengthened its capabilities: “Even if criminals rent hundreds or thousands of servers worldwide, the BKA can neutralize them.”
Germany Prepares for Stronger Countermeasures
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt pledged that the country will adopt a far more assertive stance.
“Anyone who attacks us in cyberspace must understand this: we want to defend ourselves—and we will. We are capable of disrupting and destroying hostile capabilities,” Dobrindt warned.
In a major policy shift, the German government authorized the Bundeswehr—the armed forces—to shoot down drones inside German territory, not only the Federal Police. Police agencies, in turn, plan to establish new anti-drone units.
Disinformation: A Growing Threat from Within
Beyond physical and cyber attacks, Germany faces an alarming internal challenge: declining public trust in state institutions, fueled by Russian disinformation.
False narratives targeting democratic institutions, elected officials, and public agencies—spread through complex and large-scale influence campaigns—aim to destabilize Germany from within.
To maintain societal resilience, Colonel Marahrens stressed that hybrid warfare must be recognized as a challenge that affects the entire society—not just the military or intelligence services.
