Christoph de Vries warns of a new escalation level of hybrid attacks from Russia

After the attempted attack with an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport, which was allegedly controlled by Russia, the tone towards Moscow has become more tense. The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Christoph de Vries, spoke on Thursday in Hamburg of a “new escalation level” of hybrid attacks “for which Russia is responsible” and at the same time sharply attacked BSW boss Sahra Wagenknecht.

“We are not at war, but we have been the target of hybrid attacks in Germany every day for quite some time,” said de Vries at a press conference with the Hamburg CDU regional group. Disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks, acts of sabotage and incidents in the Baltic Sea have long been part of everyday life. However, with the attempted bomb attack in Leipzig, a new quality was achieved for the first time.

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“Now for the first time it has been accepted that life and limb will be harmed here in Germany, and that German citizens will also die,” said de Vries. The incident shows that Germany and Europe are exposed to a very real threat.

The domestic politician reacted particularly sharply to Sahra Wagenknecht's attitude. While the federal government blames Russia for the attempted attack and responded with sanctions, the BSW chairwoman warned of an escalation by Germany. “We are very concretely and very real threatened by Russia, not just Germany, but all of Europe,” said de Vries. In this situation, Wagenknecht did not criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin, but rather the federal government.