Merz: Russia’s war on Ukraine threatens Europe’s freedom, security

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that Russia's war against Ukraine is a threat to freedom and security throughout Europe.

"A terrible war is raging in Europe, one that poses a direct threat to our freedom and our security. Russia is continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine with undiminished intensity, however," Merz said in his New Year's message to the nation.

"And this is not a distant war that does not concern us. After all, we are seeing more and more clearly that Russia's aggression was and is part of a plan targeted against the whole of Europe. Germany is also facing sabotage, espionage and cyberattacks on a daily basis," he added.

On Monday, Germany reported a "significant increase" in Russian espionage and sabotage as a result of Berlin's military support for Ukraine.

"As a strong supporter of Ukraine, Germany is increasingly becoming the focus of Russian sabotage and espionage. Russia wants to weaken our democracy," the president of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Munch, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

He added there had been a "significant increase in suspected cases of sabotage and espionage. The number of cases involving Russian actors at the Federal Prosecutor General's Office has risen significantly."

Munch also pointed to a clear increase in "hacktivist activities with links to the Russian state" in the cyber sphere, which was compounded by disinformation campaigns and drone activities.