Hans-Georg Maassen, the controversial and disgraced former director of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), has come out strongly opposing the mindless support in Germany for NATO’s war in Ukraine. Maassen’s interview with TV Berlin was published on July 21.
It is obvious that Zelenskyy would like to drag all of NATO into this war against Russia, Maassen said, “But that is not in our interest. It is in our interest that Germany and NATO do not participate in this conflict. This is not our war. Mr. Zelenskyy will have to deal with the situation himself. I would recommend Zelenskyy should focus on a ceasefire and forget that he can defeat Putin, or that Russia can be split up or occupied. I think he should forget that there can be a system change in Russia…. And he must come to terms with the fact that after the war the borders will be different.”
Maassen was a leading figure in Germany until 2018, when he was removed from his post as director of the country’s domestic intelligence service. He has been labeled as a “right-wing extremist” by his own former agency, the BfV, allegedly for adopting controversial views around immigration and government censorship, although the government has released nothing on these accusations and refuses to comment on the basis of that judgment.
Maassen’s former party, the CDU, had also tried to get him removed. He is now apparently working on forming his own party, the WerteUnion (Values Union). Regardless of the drama, his comments have importance, given the silencing of voices of dissent in Germany and the West.
