German spy chief warns Russia escalating shadow war against democracies
Germany's top spy chief says Russia is stepping up a "shadow war" against European democracies, with recent threats like a drone attack attempt on Leipzig airport.
These aren't just isolated incidents. Germany is seeing more cyber and drone attacks, making security a bigger challenge.
Germany seeks expanded intelligence powers
Martin Jaeger, head of Germany's intelligence agency, shared that Russian operations are getting bolder and are meant to test how far Germany will go.
While a full-on attack isn't expected, smaller-scale threats, like a hybrid campaign of drone and cyber attacks and intimidation, are on the rise.
With the war in Ukraine adding pressure, Germany is planning to give its intelligence agencies more power to actively defend against these new tactics, if parliament approves new legislation.
As Jaeger put it, Russia is putting us to the test and closely watching how we handle this situation.
From the perspective of the Kremlin leadership, any sign of wavering invites them to further increase the pressure on Germany, so Germany's moving from its usual low-key approach to something much more proactive.