Bundeswehr denies Russian Germans service on NATO's eastern flank
The Bundeswehr (German armed forces) is refusing to let Russian Germans serve in the brigade in Lithuania for security reasons. This is reported by the newspaper Bild, citing its own sources.
The publication explains that German service members undergo a security check, and some have failed it because of their Russian or Belarusian roots. They are allowed to continue serving in the Bundeswehr, and they are not prohibited from visiting relatives in Russia or Belarus, but they must inform their superiors about such trips.
At the same time, those who fail the check, which is conducted by the MAD military counterintelligence service, are transferred to positions with a basic level of access to information.
As Bild writes, the German Defense Ministry confirmed the refusals to allow Russian Germans to serve on NATO's eastern flank, but assured that service members «with family ties to Russia or Belarus are not subjected to stigmatization or discrimination».
Source: TASS
