The Kremlin has rejected warnings from German foreign intelligence that Berlin risks being drawn into a violent conflict with Russia, describing the claims as groundless and a ploy to justify military spending.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said allegations of an impending confrontation had no real basis in reality, reporting by Reuters said. Peskov stated that Germany was creating an imaginary enemy in order to justify its spending on militarisation.
The Kremlin comments came after Martin Jäger, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, warned on Monday that the risk of direct military conflict was increasing. Jäger accused Russia of stepping up an increasingly aggressive shadow war aimed at European democracies.
The German foreign intelligence agency, known as the Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND, monitors international security threats for the federal government in Berlin. Security concerns across Western Europe have intensified in recent years, leading NATO alliance members to reinforce defense postures across Northern and Eastern Europe.
German authorities have repeatedly warned that Russia is conducting a hybrid campaign involving cyberattacks and drone operations. German officials previously accused Moscow of an attempted drone attack targeting Leipzig airport in eastern Germany in August.
The warnings follow defense policy announcements made in July by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stated that Germany plans to double its defense budget within four years. Merz said Berlin aims to meet NATO's benchmark of spending 3.5 percent of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2029, reaching the target ahead of the agreed deadline.
Warning to Lithuania over nuclear weapons vote
The Kremlin issued a separate warning to Lithuania on Tuesday, stating that a preliminary decision by the country to lift a constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons on its territory could lead to a new cycle of escalation in the region.
Lithuania's parliament voted in favor of lifting the constitutional ban on Tuesday. The parliamentary vote represents the first of two required votes necessary to formally pass the constitutional amendment.
Peskov said Russia would be forced to take action to protect its own national security if Lithuania ever hosted nuclear weapons or a United States military base. Government officials in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, have requested the installation of a permanent American military base on Lithuanian territory.
Lithuania is a Baltic nation and a member of both NATO and the European Union, sharing borders with Russian territory. Under the Lithuanian constitution, any proposed constitutional modification requires approval across two separate parliamentary sessions before taking effect.
