How big is Russia's threat against Germany?
Experts believe that, so far, Germany has been ill-prepared — both militarily and mentally — for Russian provocations. They also warn against the idea that ending support for Ukraine would make Germany safer.
Russia's threat to Germany is escalating, according to German intelligence officials. The country's domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, has warned that Russia's covert attacks and destabilization efforts are a long-term hybrid attack, not a temporary development. Even if the war in Ukraine ends, the Russian threat would persist, targeting not only Ukraine but also the Baltic states, Poland, and Germany.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has described the threat situation as one where Germany is not at war but is daily targeted by hybrid warfare, with Russia's goal being to subdue Germany politically and socially. While NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says there's no immediate military threat to NATO territory, military experts believe Russia could have the personnel and equipment to wage a conventional war against NATO by 2029.
Russia is currently tied up in its war against Ukraine, but according to Stefan Meister, an expert on Eastern Europe at the German Council on Foreign Relations, Russia is more interested in testing NATO and displaying its capabilities.
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