German intelligence chiefs , Hans - Georg Maaßen and Guido Muller have suggested that Russia is trying to destabilise Germany by stoking terror over migrants through its ' easily exploited ' Russian - German population . They suggest there is a particular danger that Russia would exploit the " high mobilisation potential " of Germany 's two - million - strong Russian population . This comes after NATO 's Janis Sarts said earlier this week that Russia had a track record of funding extremist forces in Europe and warned that Russia is creating a controllable vacuum to undercut Germany 's political processes . As we noted last month , the Kremlin 's intervention in an alleged rape case involving a German - Russian girl heightened suspicions that Russia was trying to weaken Chancellor Angela Merkel and destabilise Europe , to create a vacuum where it can project its own propaganda .
German intelligence chiefs, Hans-Georg Maaßen and Guido Muller have warned that Russia is trying to destabilise Germany by stoking tensions over migrants through its 'easily influenced' Russian-German population. They suggest there is a particular danger that Moscow would exploit the "high mobilisation potential" of Germany's two-million-strong Russian community. This comes after NATO's Janis Sarts said earlier this week that Russia had a track record of funding extremist forces in Europe and warned that Russia is creating a controllable network to undercut Germany's political processes. As we noted last month, the Kremlin's intervention in an alleged rape case involving a German-Russian girl heightened suspicions that Russia was trying to weaken Chancellor Angela Merkel and destabilise Europe, to create a vacuum where it can project its own power.