Germany has accused Russia of carrying out a cyberattack against the German air traffic control system and of organizing a destabilization campaign during the parliamentary elections, Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press reported, specifying that the Russian ambassador in Berlin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in connection with these accusations, BTA reported.
"The Russian intelligence service GRU is responsible for this attack", which was carried out in August 2024. In addition, "Russia has launched an operation codenamed "Storm 1516" to influence and destabilize" the last parliamentary elections in Germany, held in February this year, a Foreign Ministry spokesman added at a regular press conference.
There has been no reaction from the Russian embassy so far.
Previously, German officials accused Russia of hybrid attacks aimed at destabilizing Europe, AP recalls.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Merz said that he sees many unresolved problems regarding peace talks for Ukraine.
There is still a significant need to clarify a number of issues in international efforts to end the war in Ukraine and to provide guarantees for the security of that country, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today, DPA reported, BTA writes.
„Discussions are being conducted very intensively these days. "We are trying to involve the US government in the negotiations that we are conducting among ourselves, as well as those that we are conducting with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian president," the chancellor said during a visit to the southwestern German city of Heidelberg.
Merz stressed that the security guarantees for Ukraine, which have been under discussion for several weeks, focus primarily on the permanent strengthening of the Ukrainian army so that the country can defend itself independently. "We are ready to make our contribution to this. The US will also need to participate," Merz said. "The question is how and in what detail this will be integrated into the overall concept, and this question remains open," he added.
There are currently no details about a possible meeting. "There are still many, many open questions in this regard, and they are all the subject of ongoing discussions," the German chancellor said.
"We know that without security guarantees we cannot protect Ukraine in the long term," Merz stressed. He has already suggested organizing a meeting in Berlin early next week after the weekend talks, without providing further details. German government spokesman Stefan Mayer explained in Berlin that the process of arranging the meeting is currently very dynamic.