German officials accuse AfD of systematically sharing military secrets with Russia — Spiegel

According to the report, AfD lawmakers systematically sent the German government numerous parliamentary inquiries concerning military transport details, counter-drone measures, cybersecurity, and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.

Politicians and security officials fear the data may have been collected for transfer to Russia, the report said.

Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Maier said AfD is “abusing parliamentary inquiry rights to deliberately probe the country’s critical infrastructure.”

He added that the party’s actions reflect “tasks assigned by the Kremlin,” directly accusing AfD of acting in Russia’s interests.

A similar stance was expressed by Bundestag Defense Committee chairman Thomas Rehkamp. In an interview with Der Spiegel, he said AfD “deliberately and systematically asks extremely detailed questions about the Bundeswehr’s military potential and weaknesses.”

He said the level of detail “cannot be explained by normal parliamentary oversight” and “may indicate the collection of sensitive information valuable to foreign states, primarily Russia.”

Der Spiegel sources in the Federal Ministry of Defense said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius shares these concerns. The ministry believes AfD’s inquiries may be coordinated, aiming to expose gaps in Germany’s defense systems.

The party reportedly shows particular interest in drones, cybersecurity, and the readiness of government data centers for crisis situations. The inquiries included questions that could reveal potentially confidential information, such as how many data centers the Interior Ministry operates, which have backup power, and how effectively they are protected against cyberattacks.

“Detailed answers to such questions could be extremely useful to Russian hackers and Kremlin military analysts,” the report said.

Coalition parties in the Bundestag have already cited “obvious links” between AfD and the Russian embassy in Berlin.

Maier also mentioned the party’s “close contacts” not only with Russia but also with China.

CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn emphasized that “the suspicion that lawmakers are acting in parliament on behalf of a hostile state is the gravest possible.”

He said if AfD leader Alice Weidel does not provide convincing explanations, she could become “an accomplice to possible high treason.”