Putin has declared war on West by attacking Ukraine – German intelligence

This is reported by Spiegel.

The head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, said that Putin's actions are "a declaration of war on the entire free, democratic world."

"The smoldering systemic rivalry has turned into an open struggle," Thomas Haldenwang, president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, added. 

Both department heads spoke at a public session of a parliamentary committee in the Bundestag. Once a year, the committee, which usually meets only behind closed doors, meets publicly and asks the three heads of the federal intelligence services - the BND, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), as well as the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) - for their assessment of the current situation in the country.

Russia's attack on Ukraine "changed the rules of the game" in all areas of policy related to security, the head of BfV said.

This has a direct impact on Germany's internal security. In April, the federal government expelled 40 Russian spies from the country.

"But this is far from all," the president of the Department for the Protection of the Constitution said. 

Kahl said that Putin's attack on Ukraine "did not come as a surprise" to the BND. For many years, his department has warned against the use of force by Russia.

However, on the eve of Russia's attack on Ukraine on February 24, German officials were much more cautious in their assessment of Putin's actions than, for example, the US or Great Britain's special services. The defensive position of the German service caused irritation among partners.

In the current conflict, Kahl warned against the use of nuclear weapons by Russia. The Russian president reserves the right to take this step, the president of the BND believes.  The matter may come to the use of "sub-strategic nuclear weapons" on the territory of Ukraine, he says.

According to him, these actions will be aimed at imposing a dictated peace on Ukraine. On the Russian side, there are no signs of readiness for compromises in possible negotiations with Ukraine.

A negative outcome of the war in Ukraine from the Russian point of view could "pose an existential threat to Putin's rule," Kahl said.  However, his service has no evidence that Russia plans to use strategic or tactical nuclear weapons.