Lawmakers accuse AfD of spying on German army on behalf of Russia

German lawmakers accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party of operating as a "sleeper cell loyal to Russia" during a Bundestag debate on Wednesday.

The AfD is accused of submitting numerous inquiries to the federal government regarding the German armed forces and critical infrastructure, with Christian Democratic Union (CDU) MP Marc Heinrichmass saying the AfD parliamentary group had submitted 47 such requests within a year.

Henrichmann, a member of the Parliamentary Control Committee overseeing intelligence services, said the AfD was "being led around the ring by the Kremlin on a leash."

The debate followed a request by the CDU/CSU and SPD to examine the parties' relations with Russia.

SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Sonja Eichwede also lashed out at the AfD, describing the party as a "stooge of Russian interests," and citing their allegedly Moscow-friendly rhetoric and trips to Russia.

Chair of the state branch of the AfD in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has repeatedly praised Russia under President Vladimir Putin in the past while AfD deputy chairman Markus Frohnmaier is reportedly planning a trip to Moscow in 2026.

Former health minister and Social Democratic Party (SPD) lawmaker Karl Lauterbach called the allegations "treason" if proven true.

Classified information

An AfD enquiry in June, containing more than 50 questions, requested information on the operational status of Bundeswehr drone equipment and strategies for "defending against hostile drones."

The federal government classified multiple responses as "VS - for official use only". It refused to answer over 10 questions, stating disclosure "harbours the risk that details about interests of our state worthy of protection and the future ability to work and fulfil the tasks of the Bundeswehr would become known."

Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Maier warned Handelsblatt weeks ago that "for some time now, we have been observing with increasing concern that the AfD is misusing the right to ask parliamentary questions to specifically investigate our critical infrastructure."

Concerns centre on whether information could benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose drones and fighter jets have increasingly been accused of violating EU and NATO airspace in recent weeks.

Drones believed to be from Russia have paralysed German airports on several occasions, believed to be the result of operations conducted by so-called low-level agents, often approached and recruited via social media and paid relatively small sums to carry out minor, low-risk tasks, such as vandalism, surveillance or arson.

AfD deputy parliamentary group leader Markus Frohnmaier dismissed the debate as an "embarrassing election manoeuvre," arguing that if the party posed genuine security risks, "government-controlled security agencies" would have "imprisoned us a long time ago."

Travel to Russia

Frohnmaier, considered close to the Kremlin, recently abandoned spring travel plans to Russia following criticism, telling the Schwäbische Zeitung newspaper that "there are no concrete travel plans at the moment."

Public broadcaster ARD reported that AfD MPs Steffen Kotré and Rainer Rothfuß will travel to Sochi on 13 November for several days to attend an "international symposium in the BRICS-Europe format," with Rothfuß planning to give a lecture.

He repeatedly criticises German and EU Russia policy on the social media platform X as "anti-Russia war propaganda."

Parliamentary groups and parties have the right to submit parliamentary questions requesting written government information on topics. However, concerns have recently been mounting over the potential misuse of this instrument for intelligence gathering in support of foreign states.

Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier raised the alarm in an interview with Handelsblatt, warning that the AfD's questions about Germany's infrastructure were of "increasing intensity and depth of detail."