Merz says Russia is trying to destabilise Germany every day, warns of extremist threat

In brief

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia is trying to destabilise Germany every day and called the threat enormous.
• Germany is on heightened alert for sabotage after a drone with explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport.
• Merz also ruled out cooperation with the far-right AfD at a CSU congress in Munich.

Russia named as the main external threat

Speaking at the Christian Social Union congress in Munich, Merz said Russia seeks to destabilise Germany on a daily basis (Merz: Rosja każdego dnia chce destabilizować Niemcy – Deutsche Welle) (Rosja zagraża stabilności Niemiec. Merz mówi o reformach – Bankier.pl). He described the threat from Moscow as enormous and said Germany is facing pressure from both extremist movements and foreign adversaries (Rusko je podle Merze obrovskou hrozbou, varoval i před extremistickými stranami – Novinky.cz).

Merz asked how Europe could protect its freedom and security as threats from extremists inside countries and hostile states outside them grow (Мерц: Росія прагне щодня дестабілізувати Німеччину – Українська правда) (Мерц наголосив на загрозі з боку Росії і екстремістських партій – Європейська правда). Berlin has repeatedly warned about Russian activity. In early October, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service, Martin Jäger, told lawmakers that Russia is currently the greatest threat to Germany and warned of possible attacks.

Sabotage concerns and recent arrests

Germany, one of Ukraine's largest military and political backers, has been on heightened alert for sabotage in recent months (Екстремісти всередині й Росія ззовні: Мерц про загрози свободі та безпеці Німеччини – Espreso). The concern intensified after a drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig airport. Berlin has said Moscow is behind the attempted attack.

Among the latest cases, police in the state of Brandenburg arrested a Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of spying for Russia on October 22. In early August, authorities also arrested a 33-year-old Ukrainian suspected of spying on a defence company.

Merz rejects cooperation with AfD

Merz also rejected any move to end the isolation of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), despite calls from members of his own party to look for common ground. "Nobody who feels they must vote for these people has any place in our union," he said. Earlier in October, a CDU member had backed an AfD candidate who was elected head of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, the first AfD politician to lead a German regional parliament.