Overview

• In a rare public Bundestag hearing, BND president Martin Jäger said Germany is “already in the fire” and cautioned that a hot confrontation with Russia could erupt at any time, warning against reliance on assessments that put a potential strike no earlier than 2029.
• Jäger outlined a Kremlin campaign to undermine NATO and destabilize European democracies through espionage, disinformation, sabotage, drone and airspace incursions, contract killings, and intimidation of exiled opposition figures.
• He urged legal changes so the BND can function under an armed-conflict scenario involving Germany and pressed for more efficient oversight to free resources for operational work.
• CDU security spokesman Marc Henrichmann called for comprehensive reform and explicit operational authorities for the services in a legally defined Spannungsfall, including powers for cyber defense.
• Coalition politicians criticized AfD lawmaker Markus Frohnmaier’s planned trip to Russia as a security risk, with calls for party intervention and potential legal scrutiny if it proceeds.