Latest news with #BrunoKahl
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Russia has plans to test Nato's resolve, German intelligence chief warns
Germany's foreign intelligence said Russia planned to extend its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine. (AFP pic) BERLIN : Russia is determined to test the resolve of the Nato alliance, including by extending its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine, the Germany's foreign intelligence chief told the Table Media news organisation. Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the Nato treaty no longer had practical force. 'We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward,' Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview. 'That doesn't mean we expect tank armies to roll westwards,' he added. 'But we see that Nato's collective defence promise is to be tested.' Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, promising to help Ukraine develop new missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory. Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the US would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. 'They don't need to dispatch armies of tanks for that,' he said. 'It's enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities.' Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea involved occupation of buildings and offices by Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms and civilian clothes, who came to be known as the 'little green men' when Moscow initially denied their identity. Kahl did not specify which officials in Moscow were thinking along these lines. Merz, who visited Donald Trump in Washington last week, pushed back against the US president's assertion that Ukraine and Russia were like two infants fighting, telling Trump that where Ukraine targeted Moscow's military, Russia bombed Ukraine's cities. Kahl said his contacts with US counterparts had left him convinced they took the Russian threat seriously. 'They take it as seriously as us, thank God,' he said.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Russia has plans to test NATO's resolve, German intelligence chief warns
BERLIN: Russia is determined to test the resolve of the NATO alliance, including by extending its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine, the Germany's foreign intelligence chief told the Table Media news organization. Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defense obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force. 'We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward,' Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview. 'That doesn't mean we expect tank armies to roll westwards,' he added. 'But we see that NATO's collective defense promise is to be tested.' Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, promising to help Ukraine develop new missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory. Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the US would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. 'They don't need to dispatch armies of tanks for that,' he said. 'It's enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities.' Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea involved occupation of buildings and offices by Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms and civilian clothes, who came to be known as the 'little green men' when Moscow initially denied their identity. Kahl did not specify which officials in Moscow were thinking along these lines. Merz, who visited Donald Trump in Washington last week, pushed back against the US president's assertion that Ukraine and Russia were like two infants fighting, telling Trump that where Ukraine targeted Moscow's military, Russia bombed Ukraine's cities. Kahl said his contacts with US counterparts had left him convinced they took the Russian threat seriously. 'They take it as seriously as us, thank God,' he said.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia could send "little green men" to test NATO's resolve, German intelligence boss warns
BERLIN, June 9 (Reuters) - Russia is determined to test the resolve of the NATO alliance, including by extending its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine, the Germany's foreign intelligence chief told the Table Media news organization. Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force. "We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward," Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview. "That doesn't mean we expect tank armies to roll westwards," he added. "But we see that NATO's collective defence promise is to be tested." Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, promising to help Ukraine develop new missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory. Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the U.S. would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. "They don't need to dispatch armies of tanks for that," he said. "It's enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities." Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea involved occupation of buildings and offices by Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms and civilian clothes, who came to be known as the "little green men" when Moscow initially denied their identity. Kahl did not specify which officials in Moscow were thinking along these lines. Merz, who visited Donald Trump in Washington last week, pushed back against the U.S. president's assertion that Ukraine and Russia were like two infants fighting, telling Trump that where Ukraine targeted Moscow's military, Russia bombed Ukraine's cities. Kahl said his contacts with U.S. counterparts had left him convinced they took the Russian threat seriously. "They take it as seriously as us, thank God," he said.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia has plans to test NATO's resolve, German intelligence chief warns
FILE PHOTO: The President of the German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) Bruno Kahl attends the opening ceremony of the new BND (Federal Intelligence Service) headquarter in Berlin, Germany, February 8, 2019. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo BERLIN - Russia is determined to test the resolve of the NATO alliance, including by extending its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine, the Germany's foreign intelligence chief told the Table Media news organization. Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force. "We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward," Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview. "That doesn't mean we expect tank armies to roll westwards," he added. "But we see that NATO's collective defence promise is to be tested." Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, promising to help Ukraine develop new missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory. Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the U.S. would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. "They don't need to dispatch armies of tanks for that," he said. "It's enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities." Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea involved occupation of buildings and offices by Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms and civilian clothes, who came to be known as the "little green men" when Moscow initially denied their identity. Kahl did not specify which officials in Moscow were thinking along these lines. Merz, who visited Donald Trump in Washington last week, pushed back against the U.S. president's assertion that Ukraine and Russia were like two infants fighting, telling Trump that where Ukraine targeted Moscow's military, Russia bombed Ukraine's cities. Kahl said his contacts with U.S. counterparts had left him convinced they took the Russian threat seriously. "They take it as seriously as us, thank God," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German intelligence chief believes Russia might test effectiveness of NATO's Article 5
Bruno Kahl, President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), suggests that Russia is considering testing NATO's collective security guarantees and that this risk will increase if the fighting in Ukraine stops in the near future. Source: Bruno Kahl in an interview with Deutsche Welle, as European Pravda reported with the reference to dpa, a German news agency Details: Bruno Kahl believes Russia will likely want to test the unity of Western countries and the effectiveness of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides that an attack on one of the NATO member states is considered an attack on all of them. Quote from Bruno Kahl: "We very much hope this is not true and that we will not be put in the difficult position of it being tested. However, we must assume that Russia wants to test us, to put the unity of the West to the test." Details: The BND president says that the timing and probability of such a "test" are directly related to how events in the Russo-Ukrainian war will continue to develop. Kahl noted that if the war ends before 2029-2030, Russia will be able to become a threat to Europe more quickly. "It is also possible that a concrete threat or blackmail attempt from Russia against Europeans could occur earlier than previously calculated. An early end to the war in Ukraine would enable the Russians to direct their energy where they actually want it, namely against Europe," said Bruno Kahl. The head of intelligence says Russia hopes that the future world order will be similar to that of the 1990s, that the Russian "sphere of influence" will expand further west, and that, in the most desirable scenario, the United States will withdraw its troops from Europe. Background: On 4 March, the German parties CDU/CSU and SPD, which are negotiating the formation of a government led by Friedrich Merz, agreed on a multi-billion dollar package of defence and infrastructure financing on credit. All defence expenditures exceeding 1% of GDP will be exempt from debt restrictions. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced a "historic day" for the Bundeswehr and Germany. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
