Overview
- Two AfD Bundestag members plan to travel to Sochi next week for a Europe–BRICS gathering, with Rainer Rothfuss describing the trip as informal peace diplomacy and German reports noting a planned closed-door discussion with Dmitry Medvedev.
- Der Spiegel reporting cited by officials says AfD MPs systematically sought granular details on military transport, drone countermeasures, cyber defence and government data centre resilience that could be valuable to Russia.
- Thuringia’s interior minister Georg Maier and Bundestag defence chair Thomas Röwekamp say the pattern looks deliberate and Kremlin-serving, while Defence Ministry sources say Boris Pistorius shares suspicions about coordinated inquiries.
- In a Bundestag debate, CDU lawmaker Marc Henrichmann accused the AfD of hosting a Russian “sleeper cell,” and SPD member Sonja Eichwede said the party acts as a stooge for Russian interests.
- AfD figures reject the accusations as malicious and argue answers were publicly released as part of oversight, as Germany’s intelligence chief warns of Russian influence efforts on political fringes and prosecutors previously probed two AfD lawmakers over alleged foreign payments.