This Friday, the German government summoned the Russian ambassador to Berlin, Sergei Nechaevto formally complain about what it described as a “sharp increase in threatening hybrid activities, including disinformation campaigns, espionage, cyberattacks and sabotage attempts.”
“Russia is … threaten our security in a very concrete way. The aim of Russian activities is to divide German society and weaken trust in local institutions. “We clearly state that we are closely monitoring Russia’s actions and will take action against them,” the government spokesperson said. Martin Gieseduring a regular press conference on Friday.
Among the attacks mentioned, the cyberattack against German air traffic control in August 2024, attributed to the GRU-backed Russian hacker collective APT-28, also known as “Fancy Bear”. Giese also spoke about attempts to influence the German elections earlier this year, certainly linked to Storm 1516, a pro-Russian influence operation already observed during the 2024 US presidential election and which was the subject of an investigation by US authorities.
Russian authorship behind these and other attacks has, however, been confirmed for some time, so the date of the call never ceases to surprise. This coincides with the European Union’s decision to activate strategic Article 122 of the Treaty and legally support the immobilization of Russian assets frozen by sanctions. It precedes the “high-ranking meeting” for which the government district of Berlin is preparing, which will take place on Monday.
This is a meeting which could be decisive in the peace process for Ukraine and of which no details have yet been revealed, even if the presence of Zelensky and American negotiators is being negotiated. Discussions are also planned in E3 format with Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
Contact with Putin’s ambassador would give Berlin the opportunity to explore these issues with Moscow without this contact officially appearing on the agenda of the peace process and without American intermediaries, through whom all contacts with the Kremlin have so far gone.
As part of efforts to end the Russian war of aggression and provide security guarantees to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Frédéric Merz believes that there is still a great need for clarification. “The negotiations are taking place very intensively these days,” he said during a visit to Heidelberg. “We’re also trying to involve the U.S. government in conversations that we’re having among ourselves, but also with the Ukrainian government and with the Ukrainian president,” he noted the benefit of working on multiple sides.
Withdrawal from Donbass
The Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakovinsisted this Friday publicly on the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from all of Donbass as a precondition for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The area would definitively come under the control of the Russian Federation; “If not through negotiations, then through military means,” he told “Kommersant”. “It is quite possible that there are no troops there, neither Russian nor Ukrainian. But there will be the Russian National Guard, our police, everything necessary to maintain order and organize life,” the Russian team explained.
When developing the proposal documents for the E3 peace process, Germany wants to have an advance response to certain suggestions, in order to maximize the chances that the process can move forward once the proposal is presented to Moscow.
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