[ad_1]
Mysterious holes were found cut into the fence of an army base.
Alleged plot to assassinate Germany's largest arms manufacturer.
Wiretapping a high-level German Air Force call.
These are not stories adapted from a spy novel from the 1960s, but real events that took place in Germany this year.
Moscow cannot be blamed for all these events, but Germany is on high alert for possible Russian sabotage, due to Berlin's ongoing military support for Kiev.
As the hot war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, there are fears that Europe could slide into a new Cold War.
“When we think of the Cold War, we tend to think of the 1970s, a period when the rules of the game became established and accepted,” says Mark Galeotti, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and director of the Mayak Intelligence Foundation.
“In a way, we are at the beginning of the Cold War – the 1950s and 1960s, which is a much harsher period.”
But what does a renewed Cold War look like for Europe's largest economy and a country that was once divided in two by the Iron Curtain?
Last month, the biggest surprise came when CNN reported that US officials had tipped off Berlin to an alleged Russian plot to kill the CEO of Rheinmetall, Germany's largest arms company.
The Kremlin denied the report, but German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a hawkish figure alongside the more ambivalent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, criticised Russia for “waging a hybrid war of aggression”.
I met Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new ammunition plant in February.
The 61-year-old is, to use a crude term, a real “somebody,” especially in a world where NATO countries are spending billions of dollars to resupply Ukraine and bolster its security.
His prominent position was evident when he stood alongside Chancellor Scholz, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as they dug shovels into the ground in Lower Saxony.
If the plot to kill him had succeeded, it would have shocked the West.
Shortly after, a security lapse allowed spies to eavesdrop on a highly sensitive conversation between senior German air force officials, which was later broadcast on Russian television.
This was a great embarrassment to Berlin, as a brigadier general in the German Air Force appeared to allow spies to enter the secure call by dialing into an unsecured line.
But this massive incident, despite its isolation, has fueled accusations that Germany has long been a “weak link” within European counterintelligence because of its fragmented federal system based on a strong focus on individual privacy.
Weeks later, two German citizens of Russian origin were arrested on suspicion of planning to sabotage US military installations in Bavaria. Annalena Baerbock summoned the Russian ambassador to complain and declared: “We will not allow Putin to bring his terror to Germany.”
Just last week, holes were found cut into the fences of water facilities supplying two military bases in North Rhine-Westphalia, raising concerns that someone was seeking to contaminate the supply.
Germany is not the only European country to suffer from apparent acts of sabotage, but it is home to many US military bases established in the aftermath of World War II.
Mark Galeotti believes that Moscow views Germany as a large but “weak” power, making it the ideal pressure point.
By any measure, the greatest known act of sabotage to affect Germany in recent years was when the Nord Stream gas pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia, was blown up in 2022.
Speculation about who ordered the attack has mounted ever since, but in a dramatic development Germany has now issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the “modest” operation was privately funded but overseen by Ukraine.
Kiev has dismissed the report as nonsense, and while there has always been skepticism that President Putin would order the destruction of his own pipeline, it shows that the dark world of espionage can be full of twists and turns.
By no means can every apparent incident of sabotage be immediately and definitely attributed to Russia.
In France, it was far-left activists, not Russian agents, who were accused of targeting the country’s high-speed rail network on the eve of the Olympics.
Germany has had a long history of armed attacks by the far left.
The spotlight now on Ukrainian figures over the Nord Stream bombings has sparked fresh criticism from familiar political wings, within Germany, over the government's support for Kiev.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, has called for a halt to “aid payments” to Kyiv and for the damage to the Nord Stream pipeline to be “charged” to Ukraine.
The AfD has a lot of support in former communist East Germany, where outside Berlin you are likely to find lingering affection for Russia and resentment toward the mainstream parties that have dominated national politics since German reunification.
While Cold War comparisons hover over European security, the politics of that period have also been renewed in Germany in a stark and unexpected way.
In an effort to boost security, the German government is working on a new law aimed at enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that “maximum preventive measures must be taken in all areas.”
Operators in critical sectors such as energy, transportation and water will have to follow minimum security standards, under the Cretes umbrella law.
This is the first federal law of its kind in Germany but has yet to receive final approval despite the growing tensions surrounding the war.
German-made Marder armoured vehicles are reportedly being used in Ukraine's surprise operation into Russian territory.
This would represent another violation of taboos in German foreign policy since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Add to this the controversial plans proposed by the United States to deploy long-range missiles in Germany from 2026.
When Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Chancellor Scholz promised a “Zeitenwende,” or turning point in national defense and security policy.
But both government supporters and critics acknowledge that reversing years of underinvestment in defense will take time — as will adjusting a mindset largely shaped by Germany's dark past.
Given recent developments, there is a question mark over how long Berlin has left.
Mark Galeotti says it's not just about rebuilding defense, but also about developing cybersecurity and improving counterintelligence.
“Security planning is not done in weeks or months, but in years.”
[ad_2]
Source