Germany says it has expelled “very” Russian agents

Berlin said on April 23rd that it recently expelled “very often” Russian agents, as Germany faces increasing threat from acts of sabotage led by Moscow.

German authorities “are doing everything they can to combat Russian spying, sabotage and cyberattack”, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sonja Kock said during a media conference, Rel broadcasts Periscope.

Russian intelligence services operating in Germany have recently been subjected to the expulsion of many agents”, Kock said, without providing an exact number or when exactly these deportations occurred.

Her statements came after German media reported that it is believed Russian intelligence services have employed low-level operatives in connection with a plot to place explosive devices on DHL aircraft.

According to the Swedish Zeitung newspaper and public broadcasters WDR and NDR, these agents had no position within security services and were usually recruited through message applications to conduct operations in exchange for money.

The investigation into possible “acts sabotaged with explosive devices in the DHL packages is continuing with intensity”, Kock said, failing to provide more details.

An incident in July last year, in which several packages broke out in the DHL warehouses in Germany and Britain, has been described by the head of German internal intelligence, Thomas Haldenwang, as a lucky “x1>, because there was limited impact.

Testifying before a parliamentary commission in October, Haldenwang had said that “a plane would crash” if the packages had exploded during flight.

Kock said Wednesday that the “risk of sabotages... has increased significantly in Germany since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine”.

She added that German authorities are monitoring Russian intelligence efforts to short-line people in return for payment”.