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Germany Blames GRU for Air-Traffic Cyberattack and Election Meddling, Summons Russian Envoy

Germany prepares coordinated EU penalties, with tighter monitoring of Russian diplomats starting in January.

Overview

  • Officials said intelligence clearly ties the August 2024 breach of the air navigation provider to APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, acting under the GRU.
  • Authorities attributed an influence effort labeled Storm 1516 to Russia and said it targeted the February 2025 vote using deepfakes, fabricated statements and pseudo-journalistic websites.
  • Berlin summoned Ambassador Sergey Nechayev to deliver a formal protest over what it described as hybrid actions threatening national security.
  • The government said it will back EU individual sanctions and, from January 2026, coordinated tracking of Russian diplomats’ cross-border movements within the Schengen area.
  • The Interior Ministry confirmed ongoing investigations and cited the ZEAM unit’s role in detecting foreign manipulation, while Russia rejected the accusations as unfounded.