Russian spies are intent on wreaking havoc in Germany

If ever the West needed confirmation that we have become firmly entrenched in a new Cold War with Russia, this month’s warnings from intelligence services across Europe should do it. Just a week after MI5’s Ken McCallum said that Russia’s military intelligence service is ‘on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets’, the German security services have also raised the alarm. They have warned that the coming months would see the Russian secret services crank up the heat on acts of espionage and sabotage in Germany ‘without scruple’.

Appearing for their annual grilling at the Bundestag’s parliamentary control committee on Monday, the heads of Germany’s three intelligence agencies spelt out in alarming terms the extent of Russia’s ambitions. ‘The Kremlin sees the West and therefore Germany as an enemy,’ warned the federal intelligence service’s Bruno Kahl. ‘We are in direct conflict with Russia.’ The Russian army, he said, was likely to be capable of launching an attack on Nato by 2030 at the latest.