German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that “hard evidence” exists indicating Russians hackers waged an attack in 2015 against the lower house of her nation’s parliament.
Mrs. Merkel implicated Moscow while speaking about a recent German news report that said Russian military hackers had breached the Bundestag and stolen emails including her own.
“I can honestly say that it pains me,” Mrs. Merkel said in the Bundestag, British outlet The Telegraph reported. “Every day I try to build a better relationship with Russia, and on the other hand there is hard evidence that Russian forces are doing this.”
Mrs. Merkel also called the attack “unpleasant” and “outrageous” and said that it damages “any sort of collaboration” between Germany and Russia, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Der Spiegel reported last week that Russian state-sponsored hackers had stolen numerous emails belonging to Mrs. Merkel and other German parliament members by compromising the Bundestag’s computer systems roughly five years earlier.
The magazine also reported that German authorities had relatedly issued an arrest warrant for Dmitry Badin, a 29-year-old Russian who is similarly wanted in the U.S. for allegedly participating in cyberattacks the Department of Justice has accused the Russian government of waging to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
Mrs. Merkel confirmed Wednesday that German investigators have identified a suspect accused of being behind the Bundestag accused, multiple news outlets reported.
“I am very glad that the investigations have now led to the Federal Public Prosecutor putting a specific person on the wanted list,” she said, Politico reported. “I take these things very seriously, because I believe that a very proper investigation has been carried out.”
Mrs. Merkel was unclear about what action if any Germany may ultimately take against Russia, however, the outlet noted.
“At this point we have to try to find the person in question by means of a manhunt. But of course we always reserve the right to take measures,” Mrs. Merkel added, according to Politico. “Nevertheless, I will continue to strive for a good relationship with Russia, because I believe that there is every reason to always continue these diplomatic efforts.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has previously identified Mr. Badin as a member of the Russian military intelligence agency better known as the GRU. In addition to charging him in connection with interfering in the 2016 presidential race, the Justice Department has also accused Mr. Badin of participating in a conspiracy to retaliate against anti-doping organizations and officials who revealed the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Russian professional athletes.
Russian government officials have previously denied Moscow was responsible for cyberattacks waged against German and U.S. targets.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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