Lawmakers accuse AfD of spying on German army on behalf of Russia

German lawmakers accused nan far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) statement of operating arsenic a "sleeper compartment loyal to Russia" during a Bundestag statement connected Wednesday.

The AfD is accused of submitting galore inquiries to nan national authorities regarding nan German equipped forces and captious infrastructure, pinch Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Marc Heinrichmass saying nan AfD parliamentary group had submitted 47 specified requests wrong a year.

Henrichmann, a personnel of nan Parliamentary Control Committee overseeing intelligence services, said nan AfD was "being led astir nan ringing by nan Kremlin connected a leash."

The statement followed a petition by nan CDU/CSU and SPD to analyse nan parties' relations pinch Russia.

SPD lawman parliamentary group leader Sonja Eichwede besides lashed retired astatine nan AfD, describing nan statement arsenic a "stooge of Russian interests," and citing their allegedly Moscow-friendly rhetoric and trips to Russia.

Chair of nan authorities branch of nan AfD successful Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has many times praised Russia nether President Vladimir Putin successful nan past while AfD lawman president Markus Frohnmaier is reportedly readying a travel to Moscow successful 2026.

Former wellness curate and Social Democratic Party (SPD) lawmaker Karl Lauterbach called nan allegations "treason" if proven true.

Classified information

An AfD enquiry successful June, containing much than 50 questions, requested accusation connected nan operational position of Bundeswehr drone instrumentality and strategies for "defending against dispute drones."

The national authorities classified aggregate responses arsenic "VS - for charismatic usage only". It refused to reply complete 10 questions, stating disclosure "harbours nan consequence that specifications astir interests of our authorities worthy of protection and nan early expertise to activity and fulfil nan tasks of nan Bundeswehr would go known."

Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Maier warned Handelsblatt weeks agone that "for immoderate clip now, we person been watching pinch expanding interest that nan AfD is misusing nan correct to inquire parliamentary questions to specifically analyse our captious infrastructure."

Concerns centre connected whether accusation could use Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose drones and combatant jets person progressively been accused of violating EU and NATO airspace successful caller weeks.

Drones believed to beryllium from Russia person paralysed German airports connected respective occasions, believed to beryllium nan consequence of operations conducted by alleged low-level agents, often approached and recruited via societal media and paid comparatively mini sums to transportation retired minor, low-risk tasks, specified arsenic vandalism, surveillance aliases arson.

AfD lawman parliamentary group leader Markus Frohnmaier dismissed nan statement arsenic an "embarrassing predetermination manoeuvre," arguing that if nan statement posed genuine information risks, "government-controlled information agencies" would person "imprisoned america a agelong clip ago."

Travel to Russia

Frohnmaier, considered adjacent to nan Kremlin, precocious abandoned outpouring recreation plans to Russia pursuing criticism, telling nan Schwäbische Zeitung newspaper that "there are nary actual recreation plans astatine nan moment."

Public broadcaster ARD reported that AfD MPs Steffen Kotré and Rainer Rothfuß will recreation to Sochi connected 13 November for respective days to be an "international symposium successful nan BRICS-Europe format," pinch Rothfuß readying to springiness a lecture.

He many times criticises German and EU Russia argumentation connected nan societal media level X arsenic "anti-Russia warfare propaganda."

Parliamentary groups and parties person nan correct to taxable parliamentary questions requesting written authorities accusation connected topics. However, concerns person precocious been mounting complete nan imaginable misuse of this instrumentality for intelligence gathering successful support of overseas states.

Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier raised nan siren successful an question and reply pinch Handelsblatt, informing that nan AfD's questions astir Germany's infrastructure were of "increasing strength and extent of detail."