Defence minister calls for Germany to resist Russian disinformation

Germany needs to become more resistant to Russian disinformation, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on visiting the military's operative communications centre in Mayen in the south-west of the country.

Disinformation campaigns had to be recognized early on and publicly exposed, he said. "We cannot be taken in by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in this area ... we must be prepared," Pistorius said.

"In brief, we have to become resilient, overall as a state and as a society," Pistorius said, accusing Russia of seeking to divide Western countries and societies. Russia was seeking to influence political decision-making in Germany, he said.

"Putin would also like, and this is a constant effort, to drive a wedge between us and our allies and divide the free Western societies," Pistorius said, with the aim of weakening support for Ukraine and sowing mistrust in NATO.

Pistorius inspected the work at the base to speak to the troops stationed there and was shown large balloons that can be used to distribute flyers.

The balloons were unique in NATO, base commander Colonel Ferdi Akaltin said. Flying a drone or aircraft to drop flyers could be seen as an aggressive act, but balloons were not, he said.