Cyberattack and Fake News: Berlin Summons Russian Ambassador Over Election Interference

The German government has officially held Russia accountable for a massive cyberattack and an extensive disinformation campaign during the federal election campaign. Consequently, the Russian Ambassador to Berlin, Sergej Netschajew, was summoned to the German Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). A spokesperson for the Ministry confirmed that the cyberattack on German air traffic control (Deutsche Flugsicherung) in August 2024 was clearly attributed to the hacking collective APT28, known as "Fancy Bear," and is linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU (GRU). The spokesperson added that it is now “conclusively established” that Russia attempted “both to influence the last federal election and to continuously destabilize the internal affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.” The German government announced its intention to take “a series of countermeasures” in coordination with European partners to make Russia pay a price for its hybrid actions, as reported by NT24, citing SPIEGEL.

The campaign "Storm-1516" was identified by the German government as primarily responsible for the election interference efforts. This operation is considered one of the worst disinformation networks online. The Foreign Office spokesperson stated there is “reliable information” that “Storm-1516” is backed by the Moscow think tank “Center for Geopolitical Expertise” and the “Double-Headed Eagle Movement” (Doppelkopfadler-Bewegung), both allegedly supported by the GRU. During the election campaign, “Storm-1516” disseminated blatant lies through numerous fake websites, primarily targeting the CDU/CSU Union (Union) and the Greens (Grünen). Examples included falsified videos claiming that the then-CDU Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz had been treated for severe psychological issues, or fabricating a €100 million corruption scandal involving the Greens' lead candidate Robert Habeck. Shortly before the federal election, fake videos also emerged, alleging manipulation of postal voting ballots, showing ballots in Leipzig where the AfD was missing. Sinan Selen (Sinan Selen), head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), stressed: “The Storm-1516 campaign very concretely shows how our democratic order is being attacked.”

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