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Russia intends to test NATO’s determination and expand its confrontation with West, - German intelligence chief Kahl

President of the German Federal Intelligence Service Bruno Kahl

The head of the German Federal Intelligence Service, Bruno Kahl, said that his agency has clear intelligence testifying that Russian officials no longer view NATO’s collective defence commitments as practically binding.

According to Censor.NET, citing European Pravda, Reuters reports.

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

However, he emphasised that this does not mean Germany expects Russian tank armies to head westwards.

"But we see that NATO's collective defence promise is to be tested," Kahl noted.

Without revealing the sources of intelligence, Kahl said that Russian officials are considering confrontations short of full-scale war to probe whether the United States would indeed fulfil its mutual defence obligations under Article 5 of the NATO Charter.

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

Kahl also stated that his conversations with his US counterparts convinced him they take the Russian threat seriously.

"They take it as seriously as us, thank God," he added.

To recap, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated has stated that the Russian Federation is building up its military capabilities and will be ready to use armed force against NATO countries within five years.