German Intelligence: Ukraine Just a Stage in Russia's Path Westward

The head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Bruno Kahl, said that Russia intends to test NATO's resolve, in particular by expanding its confrontation with the West beyond Ukraine.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to Reuters.

The head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service noted that his agency has clear intelligence indicating that Russian officials consider the collective defense commitments enshrined in the NATO treaty to be no longer valid.

“We are almost certain — and we have intelligence data to back this up — that Ukraine is only a stepping stone on Russia's path to the West,” Kahl said.

At the same time, he stressed that this does not mean that Germany expects Russian tank armies to move westward.

“But we see that NATO's promise of collective defense will be tested,” Kahl said.

Without revealing details about intelligence sources, Kahl noted that Russian officials anticipate confrontations that fall short of full-scale war but could test whether the US will indeed fulfill its mutual assistance obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

“They don't need to send tank armies for this. It is enough to send 'little green men' to Estonia to 'protect' the allegedly oppressed Russian minority,” he said, referring to Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014.

Kahl also noted that his contacts with American colleagues had convinced him that they take the Russian threat seriously.

“They take it as seriously as we do. And thank God for that,” he added.

As The Gaze reported earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has issued a stark warning that Russia is rapidly advancing its military capabilities and could be ready to take military action against NATO member states within the next five years.