Former German intelligence chief warns Berlin is “sleepwalking” into direct conflict with Russia

Hans-Georg Maassen, who served as chairman of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic security agency from 2012-2018, recently warned that the country is “sleepwalking” into a confrontation. directly militarily with Russia by transferring arms to Ukraine.

Appearing on German television recently, Maassen said he opposes any transfer of German arms to Ukraine, citing an earlier decision by the International Court of Justice that ruled that the supply supplying weapons to one of the belligerents in a conflict also makes the supplier a party to that conflict.

“In my view, when we deliver weapons, not helmets, not bandages, it means that we automatically run the risk of becoming a belligerent,” argued Maassen.

The former official also said he was frightened by the lack of public discussions on the matter.

According to him, by continuing to transfer weapons to Ukraine, Germany could become a target for Russian attack.

The former director of German intelligence argues that, contrary to what the German media have proclaimed, Ukraine is not a “fortress” of human rights, freedom, peace and Western values.

He asked the German leadership to consider why they were exposing the country to “the risk of nuclear conflict”.

According to Maassen, Germany has about 119 US military facilities on its territory and, as such, could be the target of a Russian attack in the event of war.

Mr. Maassen even likened Germany to an “American aircraft carrier with about 80 million indigenous people” living on it.

The former intelligence chief also warned that German society was not prepared for a war, as the country had not experienced any of the difficulties it brought for decades.

On top of that, Maassen said, a more drastic confrontation with Russia would be unwise for Berlin, because Germany is dependent on Russian gas imports and does not produce enough wheat and fertilizer on its own.

“Germany is endangering its security by arming Ukraine,” the former intelligence official said.

In late February, a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Berlin would supply Kiev with mobile air defense systems as well as anti-tank missiles.

The media, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, also provided the Eastern European country with 100 machine guns, 100,000 grenades, 2,000 landmines and more than 16 million rounds of ammunition.

As the conflict escalated, under pressure from NATO allies, mainly the US, Berlin finally gave the green light for the delivery of Gepard air defense systems to Ukraine. The German Ministry of Defense has pledged to send the first 15 vehicles by July.

Prime Minister Scholz also promised to donate 7 155 mm Howitzer 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. However, according to DW, Kiev probably won’t receive them before summer.

Berlin also approved an agreement for the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann to deliver dozens of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. However, the delivery is clearly in limbo, which according to media reports is due to a lack of ammunition and spare parts.

Senior Ukrainian officials, including the Ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnik, have repeatedly criticized the leadership in Berlin, arguing that the German government is faltering on the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. Kiev is urging its allies to hand over Leopard 1 tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles to them as soon as possible.