Germany’s cabinet approved new rules for its spies Wednesday to lift World War II-era restrictions on offensive cyber operations, sabotage, and espionage.
The changes augur a “revolution” in Berlin’s intelligence infrastructure, the German interior minister said, fueled by a growing perception across Europe that the threat of Russian sabotage and influence operations is increasing as Moscow’s battlefield position deteriorates.
Sweden is also rolling out a new intelligence agency, as the Russia-Ukraine war escalates: Russian civilian deaths are growing at a rapid clip in the five-year war, The New York Times reported, and Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Wednesday to seize European commercial vessels in response to further interceptions of suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tankers.