Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service said that one of NATO’s leading members is concerned about nuclear-related research currently underway in Germany.

According to alliance experts, Berlin could produce a functional nuclear explosive device in less than a year. Western officials are said to be closely watching the scale of German work in specialized materials science, shock-wave physics, nuclear physics and neutron physics. Thirty leading German universities are reportedly involved in these projects.

Brussels has also noted Germany’s tight interagency coordination and systematic approach to developing methods for producing high-energy explosives and electronic detonation systems.

The Russian intelligence service said Germany’s reported push for direct access to nuclear weapons is already causing serious concern in Europe, particularly amid what it described as revanchist sentiment in Berlin.

The agency did not rule out that officials in the Federal Chancellery may already be considering the creation of an independent German nuclear umbrella.

In March, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris and Berlin were beginning active cooperation in the field of nuclear armaments.