“ Senior German officials have accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party of purposefully abusing parliamentary powers to collect and possibly pass on to Russia classified information about the country’s military capabilities and the state of critical infrastructure. Source: Der Spiegel Details: According to the publication, AfD MPs have systematically sent numerous parliamentary requests to the German government regarding details of military transport, countering drones, cyber defense and critical infrastructure vulnerabilities. Politicians and representatives of the security forces fear that this data was collected for transmission to Russia. Thuringia’s interior minister, Georg Mayer, said the AfD was “abusing the parliamentary right of inquiry to purposefully investigate the country’s critical infrastructure”. According to him, these actions show “fulfilment of the tasks set by the Kremlin.” Mayer directly accused the party of acting in the interests of Russia. A similar position was expressed by the chairman of the Bundestag defense committee, Thomas Røvekamp. In an interview with Der Spiegel, he emphasized that the AfD “purposefully and systematically asks extremely detailed questions about the Bundeswehr’s military potential and its weaknesses.” According to him, this level of detail “cannot be explained by ordinary parliamentary control” and “may indicate the collection of sensitive information valuable for foreign countries, primarily for Russia.” Der Spiegel’s sources in the Federal Ministry of Defense report that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shares these suspicions. The agency believes that the AfD’s requests may be coordinated and their purpose is to identify gaps in Germany’s defense systems. AfD, according to the publication, shows a special interest in the topics of drones, cyber defense and the readiness of state data centers for crisis situations. The party asked questions that could reveal potentially sensitive information, including how many data centers the Home Office has, which of them have back-up power and how well they are protected against cyber attacks. “Detailed answers to such questions can be extremely useful for Russian hackers and the Kremlin’s military analysts,” Der Spiegel notes. The coalition parties in the Bundestag have already declared the presence of “obvious connections” between the AfD and the Russian embassy in Berlin. Minister Mayer also mentioned the “close contacts” of this party not only with Russia, but also with China. The head of the CDU/CSU faction, Jens Span, emphasized that “the suspicion that deputies are working in the parliament for the benefit of an enemy state is the most serious of all possible.” According to him, if AfD leader Alisa Weidel does not provide convincing explanations, she may become “an accomplice to possible treason.” Background: On November 5, it became known that Bundestag deputies Steffen Kotre and Rainer Rothfuss from the far-right “Alternative for Germany” are planning a business trip to Sochi, Russia, in mid-November. Earlier it became known that the deputy head of the AfD faction Markus Frohnmayer plans to go to Moscow in 2026. Before that, three members of the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt from the AfD took part in an event in honor of Vladimir Putin’s birthday at the Russian embassy in Berlin.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
AfD leader Alisa Weidel. Photo: Getty Images Source: Der Spiegel
Details: According to the publication, AfD deputies systematically sent numerous parliamentary requests to the German government regarding details of military transport, countering drones, cyber defense and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. Politicians and representatives of the security forces fear that this data was collected for transmission to Russia.
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Thuringia’s interior minister, Georg Mayer, said the AfD was “abusing the parliamentary right of inquiry to purposefully investigate the country’s critical infrastructure”. According to him, these actions show “fulfilment of the tasks set by the Kremlin.” Mayer directly accused the party of acting in the interests of Russia.
A similar position was expressed by the chairman of the Bundestag defense committee, Thomas Røvekamp. In an interview with Der Spiegel, he emphasized that the AfD “purposefully and systematically asks extremely detailed questions about the Bundeswehr’s military potential and its weaknesses.”
According to him, this level of detail “cannot be explained by ordinary parliamentary control” and “may indicate the collection of sensitive information valuable for foreign countries, primarily for Russia.”
Der Spiegel’s sources in the Federal Ministry of Defense report that Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shares these suspicions. The agency believes that the AfD’s requests may be coordinated and their purpose is to identify gaps in Germany’s defense systems.
AfD, according to the publication, shows a special interest in the topics of drones, cyber defense and the readiness of state data centers for crisis situations. The party asked questions that could reveal potentially sensitive information, including how many data centers the Home Office has, which of them have back-up power and how well they are protected against cyber attacks.
“Detailed answers to such questions can be extremely useful for Russian hackers and the Kremlin’s military analysts,” Der Spiegel notes.
The coalition parties in the Bundestag have already declared the presence of “obvious connections” between the AfD and the Russian embassy in Berlin. Minister Mayer also mentioned the “close contacts” of this party not only with Russia, but also with China.
The head of the CDU/CSU faction, Jens Span, emphasized that “the suspicion that deputies are working in the parliament for the benefit of an enemy state is the most serious of all possible.” According to him, if AfD leader Alisa Weidel does not provide convincing explanations, she may become “an accomplice to possible treason.”
Prehistory:
- On November 5, it became known that Bundestag deputies Steffen Kotre and Rainer Rothfuss from the far-right Alternative for Germany are planning a business trip to Sochi, Russia in the middle of November.
- Earlier it became known that the deputy head of the AfD faction Markus Frohnmayer plans to go to Moscow in 2026.
- Before that, three members of the parliament of the state of Saxony-Anhalt from the AfD took part at a birthday party Vladimir Putin at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.