Dobrindt warns of 'shadow war': Germany faces broader threat than in Cold War
Germany's interior minister accused Russia of seeking to destabilize the country politically and socially. Domestic intelligence chief Sinan Selen said: "The attacks will come."
Archive image · Photo: Adam Berry / European Union, 2025 / C - Audiovisual Service / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) said Monday that Germany faces a broader threat than during the Cold War. Speaking at a conference of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Berlin, he described a "shadow war" of sabotage, espionage and cyberattacks. "The aim is not to defeat us militarily, but to subdue us politically and socially," Dobrindt said, adding that the approach had not been "entirely unsuccessful."
He said Germany is a target as a strong economy, industrial and research hub and supporter of Ukraine: "If you want to destabilize the West, you aim at Germany." Examples of hybrid attacks include an attack on arms companies in Munich and a drone attack on a Ukrainian transport plane at Leipzig/Halle airport that was foiled by chance. Dobrindt has blamed Russia's leadership around Vladimir Putin.
The minister called for a "fully comprehensive transformation project" of state, society and economy and backed a planned overhaul of the intelligence services. The BND foreign intelligence agency would be allowed to destroy IT systems of state-directed hacker groups, while domestic intelligence could secretly enter homes under strict conditions. Agency chief Sinan Selen said: "The attacks will come."