Kremlin Said Organizing Secret Military Units in Germany, Other Western Countries

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 12 – Germany’s “Bild” has published excerpts from a new book by Boris Reitschuster entitled “Putin’s Secret War” that suggests that Moscow is organizing special military units inside Germany and other Western countries that the Kremlin could use to destabilize these states in the event of a crisis.

            Although Reitschuster’s claims are disputed, one indication that they likely deserve to be taken seriously is that when his materials appeared in “Bild” on Monday, hackers immediately took down his email account (bild.de/politik/inland/wladimir-putin/hat-geheime-armee-in-deutschland-45297646.bild.html).

            According to Reitschuster, the units which have a membership of 300 in Germany alone are organized as sports clubs but are led by Russian GRU and military officers according to an order given by Vladimir Putin to create such diversionary groups in Germany and other countries of Europe.

            Reitschuster says that this organization, known as “the System,” is a potentially important resource for Putin “in his secret war against the West.”  Members of these units have exercises in the Swiss Alps and the Czech Republic and often go to Russia for advanced training.

            According to the German publication, members of “the System” are “active in the ranks of right extremist sects, the rightwing radical movement European Patriots Against the Islamizatin of the West (Pegida), and in disinformation campaigns among Germans from Russia.”