Moscow could be specifically targeting Russian Germans to radicalize them and recruit them as spies and saboteurs, German tabloid Bild writes on April 19.
The article, titled “This is how Putin recruits agents in Germany,” claims that all Russian Germans are potential Putin terrorists. This is especially worrying for politicians and security circles following the arrest of “two Putin agents” in Bavaria.
According to official data, about 2.5 million Russian Germans live in Germany. We are talking about Russians of German origin who mostly moved to Germany after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
All of these people, Bild writes, are “especially” vulnerable to recruitment attempts from Moscow. The president of the Bundestag defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, stated that the danger of Russian President Vladimir Putin recruiting Russian citizens, citizens with dual citizenship or citizens of Russian origin to work against Germany is absolutely real.
“We should not suspect that behind every bush there is something terrible, but this danger is absolutely real.”says Strack-Zimmerman. The politician recalled the Russian presidential elections in March: “If you could see how many citizens of Russia and Germany showed up in front of the Russian General Consultation in Bonn and sang songs in praise of Putin on the occasion of the elections in Russia”.
Bild notes that many Russian Germans are well integrated in Germany, electing democratic parties and serving in the Bundeswehr, where they form the largest group of immigrant soldiers. But some still feel connected to Russia and support Putin.
The tabloid newspaper claims that many Russian immigrants living in Germany prefer the media from their homeland and, therefore, “They are deliberately exposed to pro-Putin anti-Western propaganda.”
Source: Rossa Primavera
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