German AfD party seeks to uncover weapons supply routes to Ukraine for Kremlin – Politico

The German far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been accused of trying to obtain confidential information on the supply routes of Western weapons to Ukraine and counter-drone systems using parliamentary requests for information.

Source: Politico, Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation

Details: Ringo Mühlmann, an AfD MP in the parliament of the state of Thuringia, has shown particular interest in classified data. Using his parliamentary status, he repeatedly requested detailed information from the regional government on military logistics. In September, Mühlmann submitted a request for information about the volume of military transit through Thuringia since 2022, demanding breakdowns by type of transport, number of shipments and exact stop locations for the equipment.

In addition, in June, he filed eight requests for information related to counter-drone systems used by the regional police, seeking a list of technical equipment and the results of their tests.

Such actions have sparked outrage among centrist politicians in Germany. Critics claim the far-right are using their positions to gather intelligence that Moscow could exploit in the war against Ukraine and in hybrid operations against Europe.

Georg Maier, Minister of the Interior of Thuringia, directly accused the AfD of acting on behalf of the Kremlin. He stated that MPs' interest in critical infrastructure and hybrid threat responses is highly unusual at regional level, as local parliaments have no authority over defence or foreign policy.

Data analysis conducted by German newspaper Spiegel shows that AfD MPs in German state parliaments have submitted over 7,000 requests related to national security since 2020 – far more than any other political party in Germany. In Thuringia, where the local intelligence service has classified AfD as an extremist group, the party filed almost 70% of all parliamentary requests in the current cycle. In the Bundestag, this figure exceeds 60%.

Mark Heinrichmann, head of the Bundestag's special committee overseeing intelligence services, noted that even if the government does not directly release classified data, Russian intelligence could piece together a complete picture of supply routes and security vulnerabilities by analysing the large volume of responses to individual AfD requests for information.

In response to the accusations, Mühlmann stated: "It is not up to me to limit my questions, but up to the minister to provide the answers. If at some point such an answer poses a danger or leads to espionage, then the espionage is not my fault, but the minister's, because he has disclosed information that he should not have disclosed."

Background:

• AfD leaders have repeatedly shown pro-Kremlin stances, calling for an end to military assistance to Ukraine and the resumption of Russian gas imports.
• In November, senior German officials accused the far-right AfD party of deliberately abusing its parliamentary powers to collect and likely pass on classified information to Russia about Germany's military capabilities and the state of its critical infrastructure.

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