Putin’s connection to Germany is personal. A country that he thought he understood, from his posting to East Germany as a young KGB officer, has turned its back on him. “I still have friends in Germany,” Putin said at a recent event in Russia… “And it may seem strange, but their number is growing.”

Putin seems to hope he can make an ally of Germany’s far right party AfD in an effort to sow discord in German society. This would meet an important goal in his broader campaign to dissolve Western unity and reduce support for Ukraine.