Germany's police chief: Russia trying to 'weaken our democracy'

The head of Germany's criminal police office on Monday called for better data on drone flights, as the country is increasingly becoming the focus of Russia's sabotage efforts.

"As a strong supporter of Ukraine, Germany is increasingly becoming the focus of Russian sabotage and espionage. Russia wants to weaken our democracy," Holger Münch told the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel.

"The number of cases involving Russian actors at the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has risen significantly," he said, adding that there had also been a clear increase in "hacktivist activities with links to the Russian state" in the cybersphere, accompanied by disinformation campaigns and drone activities.

However, the police chief said "we have no evidence so far that the Russian state is systematically flying drones over Germany."

The data available on drone flights needs to be improved. "This year, we have documented a low four-digit number of sightings over critical infrastructure sites, military facilities and arms companies. Many of these recorded drone flights are sightings by humans, not by technical devices," said Münch, adding, that has to change. The drone operators could only be identified in "very rare cases."

Münch said that surveillance would be expanded, "first at airports, military facilities and large arms manufacturers and energy suppliers, for example." All data would then have to be collated at the Federal Police's new drone defence centre.