The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is showing its closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin and is “behaving like a German party.” This was stated by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in an interview with Handelsblatt.
The official noted that Germany must prepare for a new era of hybrid threats and cyberattacks. During the interview, he emphasized that he plans to give security agencies broader powers to repel attacks from abroad and, if necessary, to strike back.
At the same time, the minister is concerned not only about external threats, but also about internal risks. Dobrindt supported the accusations against the AfD of spying for Russia.
“The AfD openly demonstrates its closeness to Putin and behaves like Putin’s German party”, he warned.
A few days earlier, the Minister of the Interior of the federal state of Thuringia, Georg Mayer, stated that the AfD was abusing the right of parliamentary inquiries to collect information about the country’s transport, digital, water and energy infrastructure.
“It seems that the AfD is fulfilling the Kremlin’s list of tasks with its inquiries”, Mayer noted.
This statement is consistent with the position of Alexander Dobrindt;
“In the case of a party that so openly supports Putin, it is not surprising that such statements are made suspicions. Separate investigations into AfD members or employees reinforce these suspicions. How deep these connections are must be determined by the investigating authorities.
As a reminder, in 2018, Markus Frohnmeier, deputy chairman of the AfD faction in the Bundestag, took part in organizing the “Yalta International Economic Forum”, which was supported by the Russian authorities. In October 2025, he announced his intention to visit Moscow for political negotiations.
“The AfD leadership should ban this trip. Anything else should be considered treason”, — the secretary general of the “Christian Social Union” commented a few weeks ago (CSU) Martin Huber.
Alexander Dobrindt also reacted to the situation, saying that the AfD “defends Putin’s aggressive war and ignores violations of international law”.
“True patriots love their country and do not question the right of other peoples to self-determination. Thus, the AfD is not a patriotic party, but Putin’s party. Personally, I can understand when its behavior is called treason”, Dobrindt added.
