The German Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Russian ambassador, Sergei Nechayev, on Friday over allegations of repeated Russian hybrid attacks on Germany.

Germany has been among several EU countries sounding the alarm in recent years over increasing Russian threats. 

Russia called the statements "absurd" and "baseless".
The move to summon Russia's ambassador to Germany followed what officials described as mounting evidence of coordinated Russian activity aimed at undermining Germany's internal stability.

"The goal of these Russian cyber and disinformation attacks is clear: It is to divide society, stir up mistrust, provoke rejection, and weaken confidence in democratic institutions," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese said. 

How did Russia target hybrid attacks at Germany?

Berlin listed some cases that it said were perpetrated by Moscow.

In one instance, Giese said, a cyberattack against Germany's air traffic control authority in August 2024 could be clearly attributed to the Russian hacker group "Fancy Bear."

"Our intelligence findings show that the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU, bears responsibility for this attack," he added, adding that this was now certain.

Giese said Germany was also now certain that Russia attempted to influence the most recent general election.

According to Berlin, this was done through the propagandist group "Storm 1516," which creates and spreads online disinformation to further the interests of the Russian government. 

The group, active since 2024, seeks primarily to influence elections in Western countries.

The campaign to influence the election focused in part on then–Green Party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck and conservative Christian Democrat candidate Friedrich Merz.

Two days before the early federal election in February, the government said security agencies had identified fake videos alleging ballot manipulation as part of a Russian disinformation effort.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin said that it "categorically rejected" that Moscow was responsible for any of the activity outlined by the German government.

"The accusations of Russian state structures' involvement in these incidents and in the activities of hacker groups in general are baseless, unfounded and absurd," the embassy statement said in a statement.

What are hybrid attacks?

Russia is accused of various acts of hybrid warfare — actions that fall below the threshold of open military conflict but are designed to weaken states politically. They include:

• Hacking government ministries, parliaments and defense institutions
• Targeting critical infrastructure such as energy grids, transport systems and air traffic control
• Spreading disinformation during election campaigns
• Amplifying fake stories or manipulated content via social media
• Using bot networks and troll farms to influence voter sentiment
• Targeting specific candidates seen as unfavorable to Moscow
• Acts of sabotage against railways, cables, pipelines, or military logistics
• Surveillance or targeting of infrastructure linked to Ukraine support
• Encouraging or facilitating irregular migration toward EU border

How is Germany planning to tackle hybrid attacks?

Officials said Germany strongly condemned the actions and began taking countermeasures.

The government added that it supported new sanctions targeting individuals believed to be responsible for the activities. 

Germany is already backing strong measures against Russia as mounting pressure to end the war in Ukraine. Among those measures is the EU locking up Russia's assets held in Europe until it stops the war and compensates Ukraine. 

Edited by: Karl Sexton