Germany has accused Russia of a cyber-attack on air traffic control and attempted electoral interference, prompting the summoning of the Russian ambassador.
A foreign ministry spokesman stated that Russian military intelligence was behind a cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024. Additionally, the spokesman accused Russia of seeking to influence and destabilise Germany's federal election in February of this year.
The allegations come amidst escalating concerns in Europe regarding suspected Russian cyber-attacks since the onset of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia has categorically rejected these claims, branding them as absurd. In a statement to AFP, the Russian embassy in Berlin labeled the accusations of state involvement as baseless and unfounded.
Germany's foreign ministry emphasized that it would coordinate with European partners to implement counter-measures against Russia for its hybrid actions.
In the last year, both the UK and Romania have accused Russia of meddling in their domestic affairs, particularly involving organizations aiding Ukraine and during presidential elections.
The foreign ministry attributed the August 2024 cyber-attack to the Fancy Bear hacker group, known for previous cyber incidents.
The spokesman noted, Our intelligence findings prove that the Russian military intelligence service GRU bears responsibility for this attack. He added that there was also evidence of Moscow attempting to influence Germany's federal election and internal affairs through disinformation campaigns.
These campaigns reportedly targeted key political figures such as Robert Habeck from the Green Party and Friedrich Merz from the CDU, who is now the chancellor.
Security agencies identified fake videos alleging ballot manipulation as part of a Russian disinformation strategy just days prior to the elections.
Germany's air navigation service confirmed that its office communication was hacked in August but stated that flights were not affected.
Fancy Bear has been linked to a series of high-profile cyber-attacks, including the 2016 breach of the US Democratic National Committee.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has severely damaged relations between Berlin and Moscow, with Germany steadfastly supporting Ukraine via military, financial, and diplomatic assistance.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has advocated for the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and called out Russia's cyber warfare efforts against Germany.
Relations between the two countries had already been tense prior to the invasion, particularly following the assassination of a Chechen national in Berlin in 2019, which led to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Germany.
Moscow has yet to respond to the latest allegations but has frequently denied European allegations of a Russian sabotage or hybrid campaign.
