The German government has accused Russia of carrying out a major cyberattack and spreading disinformation during this year's federal election campaign, saying the activities were aimed at undermining trust in democratic institutions and processes.
The Foreign Office said in Berlin that the "targeted manipulation of information" formed part of a broader series of actions intended to destabilize Germany.
As a result, Russia’s ambassador was summoned to the ministry and Berlin is promising further consequences.
A cyberattack on the German air-traffic control service provider DFS in August 2024 can clearly be attributed to the Russian hacker group Fancy Bear, a Foreign Office spokesman explained.
"Our intelligence findings prove that the Russian military intelligence service GRU is responsible for this attack," he said.
DFS said at the time that its office communications systems had been hacked and that countermeasures were under way to minimize the impact. Flight operations were not affected and continued as normal.
Elaborate disinformation campaign
The Foreign Office said Germany could now state conclusively that Russia attempted, through a campaign known as Storm 1516, to "influence and destabilize both the last federal election and the internal affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany on an ongoing basis."
German security agencies have reliable information indicating that organisations backed by the GRU were behind the operation, the spokesman said.
The Storm 1516 campaign has been running since 2024. It primarily targets elections in Western countries.
In a joint effort, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, and the domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, examined 10 pieces of content published on social media platforms such as X and Telegram between July 2024 and July 2025.
Before the German federal election on February 23, the focus was on the Green Party's top candidate Robert Habeck and the ultimately successful candidate to become chancellor from the conservative bloc Friedrich Merz.
To discredit them, false testimonies were produced and posted online, and websites with fabricated content were set up. Authorities outlined a series of lies spread by this campaign, including:
A video dated July 29, 2024, accused then foreign minister Annalena Baerbock of having an affair with an African gigolo during a trip to Africa.
A video from December 5, 2024, alleged sexual abuse by then Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
A January 30, 2025 video accused Habeck, among other things, of selling stolen artwork.
On February 3, 2025, just weeks before the election, a video claimed Merz was mentally unstable and had been committed to a psychiatric institution years earlier.
A February 17, 2025, video claimed that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was missing from postal ballots in the city of Leipzig.
On May 6, 2025, a purportedly official website announced a fabricated programme of the new federal government aimed at promoting immigration.
A May 27, 2025, video accused Chancellor Merz of personally profiting from an alleged delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles.
A July 4, 2025, video claimed the chancellor had killed polar bear cubs during a hunting trip to Canada.
BND President Martin Jäger said Moscow sought to destabilize European democracies and divide and intimidate societies. "We must confront our adversaries wherever necessary," he said.
BfV President Sinan Selen said the Storm 1516 campaign showed in concrete terms how the democratic order was being attacked. The “disinformation ecosystem,” he said, includes pro-Russian influencers with large followings, conspiracy theorists and far-right groups that disseminate Russian falsehoods through their channels.
Increase in hybrid attacks
The German government has been observing an increase in hybrid threats from Russia for some time.
Hybrid warfare is understood as a combination of military, economic, intelligence, and propaganda tools, which can also influence public opinion, including state-controlled cyberattacks.
The Foreign Office now announced through its spokesman: "We are closely monitoring what Russia is doing and we are taking action against it."
The German government will take a series of countermeasures in close coordination with European partners to "show Russia a price for its hybrid actions."
At the European level, new sanctions targeting individual actors are also supported. These include, for example, entry bans for certain individuals and the freezing of assets. At the same time, he emphasized: "We will continue to strengthen our support for Ukraine and our deterrence and defence."
- Germany
- Cyber attack
- Russia
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
