Germany has taken a bold step by recalling its ambassador to Russia in response to a series of cyberattacks.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff was summoned back to Berlin on Monday, following accusations against Moscow for cyberattacks on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and various key industries in Germany. This decision was made just before the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The German Foreign Office spokesperson stated that the ambassador will remain in Berlin for consultations for a week before returning to Moscow.
Germany will not be present at Putin’s upcoming inauguration for his new six-year term, which was secured through a significant victory in March elections, as mentioned by the spokesperson.
Last Friday, Berlin also called in the Russian ambassador to express discontent over a cyber campaign allegedly linked to Moscow’s GRU military intelligence agency that began two years ago.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pointed fingers at the APT28 group, also known as Fancy Bear, accusing them of being controlled by Russia’s military intelligence service in connection to a cyberattack on the SPD.
The investigation revealed that German companies in defense, aerospace, and IT sectors, along with targets related to the conflict in Ukraine, were targeted in the cyberattacks that started in March 2022.
The breach into the SPD’s headquarters’ emails in December of that year was also highlighted by the Ministry of Interior.
“This was a state-sponsored cyberattack by Russia on Germany, and it is completely unacceptable. There will be consequences,” declared Baerbock.
Rocky relations
Russia has consistently denied accusations from Western nations regarding their involvement in orchestrating cyberattacks.
Link from www.aljazeera.com