Russian collaborates with German party to hinder arms deliveries to Ukraine
Russia cooperates with the far-right party in Germany (Vitaliy Nosach, RBK-Ukraine)
Russia cooperates with the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) and assigns it the task of obstructing the delivery of German weapons to Ukraine, according to "Voice of America."
In a joint investigation by reporters from the German magazine Spiegel, the Russian investigative platform Insider, and Bellingcat, journalists have revealed how a naturalized German citizen and an assistant to a member of the Bundestag, with the help of a suspected agent of Russian intelligence, planned to halt or slow down the delivery of German main battle tanks, Leopard, to Ukraine.
As reported by the international edition of Spiegel, a pro-Russian activist and frequent guest on Russian propaganda talk shows, who works for a politician from the far-right party AfD, sought Moscow's support for a lawsuit against the German government to stop the delivery of German weapons to Ukraine.
Insider reports that the naturalized German citizen and assistant to a member of the Bundestag, Volodymyr Serhiienko, along with "Oleksii," a suspected FSB collaborator, planned to halt or slow down the delivery of German main battle tanks, Leopard, to Ukraine through absurd court lawsuits against the German government, with a cost of only $93,000.
The pretext for these lawsuits was Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz's decision to send this weaponry to Ukraine without the Bundestag's approval, even though no German law requires such consent.
Progress of the Case
On Wednesday, July 5th, the parliamentary faction of AfD filed a lawsuit with the Federal Constitutional Court.
Simultaneously, the parliamentary group of AfD in the Bundestag denies any connection between the lawsuit and Serhiienko's activities.
"They claim that their legal department and legal representative Ulrich Vosgerau prepared the complaint, and the parliamentary group covered the expenses. As AfD reports, Eugen Schmidt and other parliament members close to Serhiyenko had no involvement in the process," reports Spiegel.
Serhiyenko's Collaboration with Moscow In the correspondence between Serhiyenko and his suspected handler from Russian special services, accessed by investigative journalists, expressions typical of Soviet agencies overseeing subversive activities abroad were used.
Particularly, the interlocutors discussed "active measures," a term Russia has historically used for covert attempts to influence the policies of other countries through disinformation, propaganda, and other dishonest methods.
"Officially, AfD does not acknowledge its connection to the Kremlin. However, as the intercepted correspondence indicates, the deputies of this faction didn't just coordinate their actions with Moscow, but also received direct instructions – even pre-drafted talking points, which they obediently adhered to," states the Insider article.
German aid to Ukraine
Germany regularly provides military assistance to Ukraine. On Friday, August 4th, it was announced that the Bundestag delivered new military equipment and demining tools to Ukraine.
Recently, Ukraine received the first batch of 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks and self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery systems Gepard from Germany.
