{"text":[[{"start":7.75,"text":"Russia’s “shadow war” against Europe has entered a new and more dangerous phase, Germany’s intelligence chiefs have warned, with Moscow plotting attacks on Nato territory on a scale not seen since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine."}],[{"start":21.4,"text":"Germany’s three intelligence services on Monday briefed parliament on the Kremlin’s escalation, which they said was due to Vladimir Putin’s frustration with the lack of progress in his war in Ukraine. The German spy chiefs confirmed the recent claim by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Russian president has ordered his military and spy agencies to level Ukraine’s economy and ability to defend itself this winter. "}],[{"start":46.25,"text":"The Kremlin’s agents will act regardless of the potential for civilian casualties to disrupt European support for Kyiv by targeting infrastructure and transportation networks as well as military sites and businesses in EU countries, the spy chiefs said. "}],[{"start":61.15,"text":"It is barely two months since German police interrupted a botched attack at Leipzig airport where Russian agents had tried to use an explosives-laden drone to blow up a Ukrainian transporter aircraft based there. The airport is a major civilian transport hub. "}],[{"start":76.7,"text":"Germany’s domestic intelligence (BfV) chief, Sinan Selen, warned that the drone incident was the tip of the iceberg. "}],[{"start":84.05,"text":"“The transport and communications sector, the defence industry and military infrastructure are in the crosshairs,” he said. “Arrests in Europe and Germany show that the choice of targets and modus operandi take significant damage into account. "}],[{"start":99,"text":"“Even today, Russia is prepared to accept potential civilian casualties and is also engaged in the deliberate planning of acts of violence against individuals by state or state-controlled actors,” he said. "}],[{"start":112.75,"text":"His agency was “effectively” moving to counter such plots, but the Kremlin was also dramatically scaling up its efforts and becoming more sophisticated in its recruitment work. "}],[{"start":124.55,"text":"Germany, as the largest supporter of Ukraine in Europe, is Russia’s number one target beyond the battlefield, said Martin Jäger, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND."}],[{"start":135.85,"text":"“Russia sees us as its main adversary. No other country currently poses such a direct, comprehensive and concrete threat to Germany.” "}],[{"start":145.6,"text":"There was now a small but growing risk of Russian provocations leading to a full-scale conflict with Nato, Jäger warned. "}],[{"start":153.85,"text":"“Germany is at risk of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia,” he said, urging a national conversation about deterrence and the need to make it clear to Russia that Germany will fight an all-out war if pushed too far. "}],[{"start":167.6,"text":"“It must be crystal clear that we . . . are prepared to wage and see a conflict through to the end, with all the necessary consequences. And as long as we do not do that, we remain vulnerable,” he said. "}],[{"start":181.1,"text":"He praised the approach taken by the Scandinavian and Baltic states, where the threat posed by Russia “is not questioned” and is dealt with pragmatically but forcefully. "}],[{"start":191.9,"text":"Nato’s joint assessment is that Russia’s military could be ready to enter into a full-scale conflict with the alliance by 2029, but likely not before, especially if it remains bogged down in Ukraine. "}],[{"start":204.6,"text":"That does not preclude the Kremlin attempting a smaller-scale provocation designed to call into question Nato unity in the next few years, however. “We must not wait until 2029,” said Jäger. "}],[{"start":217.35,"text":"“We could well imagine [such] scenarios in the Baltic states, where we consider it entirely conceivable that Russia might carry out targeted, smaller-scale operations, such as those we saw in the early stages of the conflict against Ukraine [in 2014].”"}],[{"start":232.1,"text":"“Think of the ‘little green men’,” Jäger said, referencing the unidentified military special forces units that Russia first sent into Crimea to present its takeover of the peninsula in 2014 as a fait accompli before Ukraine or Europe had time to react. "}],[{"start":248.95,"text":"The aim, according to the BND chief, was not to trigger Nato’s mutual defence clause but to “test Nato to see — how does Nato react to such incursions?”"}],[{"start":267.45,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791210456_6142.mp3"}