Germany Accuses Russia of Interfering with Elections and Cyberattacking Air Traffic Control
Russia is alleged to have interfered in Germany’s federal election and hacked air traffic control.
Germany has called for the Russian ambassador after accusing Moscow of trying to sabotage its federal elections and conducting a cyberattack on the nation’s air traffic control systems. Tensions between Berlin and Moscow have drastically worsened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the accusations represent a new escalation in those tensions.
Germany’s foreign ministry spokesperson claimed Friday that a “cyber-attack against German air traffic control in August 2024” was carried out by Russian military intelligence. Additionally, he charged that a larger attempt to “influence and destabilize” Germany’s federal election in February 2025 was being planned by the Kremlin.
German intelligence reports say the attack was carried out by the well-known Russian hacker collective Fancy Bear, which is associated with the GRU. Germany’s air navigation service emphasized that aircraft operations were unaffected, but subsequently confirming that its office communication system had been compromised.
Additionally, during the election cycle, Berlin accused Moscow of launching a concerted disinformation operation against top lawmakers called Storm 1516. According to reports, the campaign extensively targeted CDU candidate Friedrich Merz, who is currently chancellor, and Green Party candidate Robert Habeck with phony videos accusing him of manipulating the voting.
But Russia has “categorically rejected” the accusations. The Russian embassy in Berlin called allegations of official participation in cyberattacks “baseless, unfounded, and absurd” in a statement to AFP.
In a statement, Russia’s embassy in Berlin said that the claims that Russian official structures were involved in these instances and hacker groups’ activities generally were “baseless, unfounded, and absurd.”
According to Germany’s foreign ministry, Berlin would take countermeasures to force Russia to “pay a price for its hybrid actions” in close coordination with its European allies.
In order to make sure Russia “pays a price for its hybrid actions,” Germany promises to implement countermeasures and claims it is collaborating closely with its European allies. Similar concerns from the UK and Romania, which have both mentioned Moscow’s intentions to interfere in their domestic affairs, notably by targeting organizations that aid Ukraine, are echoed in the claims.
A number of high-profile cyberattacks, such as the 2016 hack of the US Democratic National Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency data dump, have previously been connected to Fancy Bear.
The most recent allegations are set against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities between the two countries. Events like the 2019 murder of a Chechen expatriate in Berlin’s Tiergarten Park, for which Germany accused a Russian national acting on state orders, damaged relations even prior to the conflict in Ukraine.
Chancellor Merz has supported attempts to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine’s defense and has frequently accused Russia of engaging in cyberwarfare against Germany.
Although Moscow has not yet openly addressed the most recent accusations, it has often refuted claims of hybrid assaults or sabotage throughout Europe.
