“The Kremlin sees Germany as the central decision-maker in the EU and NATOalso in terms of arms supplies (for Ukraine) and sanctions (against Russia), and at the same time easy prey, the soft underbelly of the EU. This combination of strong influence and simultaneous weakness makes us an ideal target,” Freytag von Loringhoven said in an interview for the German weekly “Der Spiegel”.
The main one the reason is the war in Ukraine. The Russians want to influence German politics and public opinion through social media campaigns to weaken support for Ukraine and strengthen extreme forces, explained a former German diplomat whose last posting before retiring in 2022 was embassy in Warsaw.
Germany in Kremlin's crosshairs
Freytag von Loringhoven said that Putin's right-hand man, Sergei Kiriyenko, had designated Germany as the main target of attacks in mid-2022. The findings of the German services were confirmed by Ministry of Justice USA and the latest leaks.
According to the diplomat, the implementation of the “epochal change” program announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz after Russia's aggression against Ukraine is not entirely consistent. Germany does not combat propaganda by Russian state media, nor statements in German media by “experts” paid by Russia. A large part of German society does not support a tough policy towards Russia. Solidarity with Ukraine is eroding – emphasized Freytag von Loringhoven in an interview with “Spiegel”.
Billions of euros spent on disinformation
Former deputy head of BND said Russia spends billions euro on disinformation, the aim of which is to sow distrust towards the state, government and traditional media. One result is the good electoral results of the (far-right) AfD and (far-left) BSW.
In his opinion, internet platforms should recognize manipulations faster and block them. We can no longer tolerate the artificial reproduction of content that is going into the millions, behind which there are no real people, he said. The Digital Services Act in Europe allows for far-reaching sanctions against platforms that do not react quickly enough to abuses.
Freytag von Loringhoven said that while working at NATO headquarters in 2016-2019, he considered Russia to be the greatest threat to the Alliance, next to international terrorism. Disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks were already taking place at that time. “As soon as I started working there, I immediately set up a section to combat hybrid threats,” he emphasized. In his opinion, German services must do more than they have done so far to effectively combat disinformation. The ability to undertake offensive operations is necessary, including the ability to paralyze servers located abroad that control cyberattacks or disinformation campaigns.
Freytag von Loringhoven is co-author of the book “Putin's Attack on Germany: Disinformation, Propaganda, Cyberattacks”, which will be published next week in Germany.
The article comes from the website German Welle