Fighting a War at Home: The Institutionalisation of Germany’s Response to Russian Hybrid Attacks

Germany’s response to Russian hybrid threats has become institutionalised since 2022 due to emergent evidence revealing a sustained campaign against German society and democracy. Officials now treat the issue more seriously and consider offensive countermeasures.

Combating hybrid threats is a particularly serious concern for Germany, given its unique strategic position in Europe. As a driving force behind European rearmament, Germany has become a high-value target for Russian efforts to undermine western coordination of aid and weaken the overall support for Ukraine.

Germany has faced hybrid attacks that have taken the form of disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, drone flyovers, and acts of sabotage. They exploit concerns about a perceived lack of sovereignty, overreliance on the EU, fears of the war spreading, threats to security and territorial integrity, corruption, and the declining trust in government.

Russia’s attacks in Germany suggest its willingness to escalate beyond online influence campaigns to kinetic operations. Russia is unlikely to scale down its attacks, so Berlin must build a sustainable deterrence system that goes beyond responding to individual incidents.

It must focus less on investigation and mitigation and more on active defence mechanisms—and even on offensive measures—so that Moscow understands that Berlin does not take its malign behaviour lightly and is willing to fight back. This would establish clear consequences and strengthen deterrence by demonstrating to Moscow the potential costs and the extent of further escalation, as well as a high degree of likelihood that Germany and its allies will inflict those costs on Russia.