Overview
- Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who served as Germany's ambassador in Moscow from 2023 to 2026 and has taken up the post in Israel, described his direct impressions in a widely reported podcast and interviews this week.
- He said Vladimir Putin appeared physically well and decisive when Lambsdorff met him in December 2023, contradicting persistent public rumours about the president's health.
- Lambsdorff recounted pervasive surveillance across Russia, citing FSB monitoring, cameras with facial recognition in Moscow metro stations, and automatic registration of licence plates even in rural areas.
- He argued that Ukrainian strikes reaching deep into Russia, including a June attack on a large refinery near Moscow, have exposed gaps in Russia's air defence and made the war materially felt in the capital.
- Lambsdorff warned a renewed mobilization is now more likely because Russia digitized its conscription registry, allowing authorities to send enlistment notices to phones and share them with border controls to block departures.