German Intelligence Warns: Russia May Deploy ‘Little Green Men’ to Test NATO’s Resolve

Russia intends to test NATO’s resolve, in particular by extending its confrontation with Western countries beyond Ukraine.

Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service stated this, Reuters reports.

According to him, the agency has clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force.

“We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward,” Kahl said.

Meanwhile, he emphasized that it did not mean that Russian tank armies would move to the West.

“But we see that NATO’s collective defense promise is to be tested,” Kahl added.

Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the U.S. would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

“They don’t need to dispatch armies of tanks for that,” he said. “It’s enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities,” Kahl said, referring to Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014.

Kahl noted that contacts with his American colleagues had convinced him that they took the Russian threat seriously.

“They take it as seriously as us, thank God,” he said.

Baltic defense

In early April, Bundeswehr announced the launch of the 45th Armoured Brigade (Panzerbrigade 45) in Lithuania. Its main task is to guarantee the defense, freedom and security of Lithuanian allies on NATO’s eastern flank.

Another key element of the Alliance’s structure, which plays an important role in ensuring security and stability in the Baltic Sea region, is NATO Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE), headquartered in Szczecin, Poland.