Russian leader Vladimir Putin is accused of forming secret 'battle groups' in western countries including Germany ready to activate at a moment's notice.

Putin expert and biographer Boris Reitschuster claims in his new book 'Putin's Hidden War' that this army of sleepers is trained in the Russian 'Systema' techniques of martial arts and knife fighting as taught to his country's special forces units.

German author Reitschuster claims to have seen the reports of a western European intelligence service detailing the covert groups spread across the continent.

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'This means the Kremlin leader and ex-Intelligence Chief Putin has direct access to an elite fighter network in the West,' said popular German daily newspaper BILD ahead of the book's publication on Friday this week.

Reitschuster says the commanders of this secret army are drawn from GRU military intelligence and elite WDW airborn troops, adding; 'This fighting force in enemy territory is a mainstay in Putin's hidden war against the West.'

Earlier this year German intelligence agencies warned of Putin's plan to destabilize the country through propaganda.

Now Reitschuster says the intelligence he has seen suggests the new goals are fomenting civil unrest, distorting democratic political processes and 'conveying non-democratic ideals.'

In January the intelligence services said the Kremlin was behind a false report of a 13-year-old Russian girl called Lisa who claimed she was raped in Berlin.

Reitschuster says the commanders of this secret army are drawn from GRU military intelligence and elite WDW airborn troops, adding; 'This fighting force in enemy territory is a mainstay in Putin's hidden war against the West'

Earlier this year German intelligence agencies warned of Putin's plan to destabilize the country through propaganda

Later she admitted she made the story up - but not before ex-pat Russians had taken to the streets and even protested outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's office.

Russian Systema self-defence schools in Germany act as 'camouflage for agent meetings,' according to Reitschuster and 'are centres for recruiting new Kremlin fighters.'

The author claims European intelligence services have identified about 300 men in the previous year Germany who are actively involved in the Systema structures. Among those who have received special training in Moscow are also soldiers, policemen, judicial employees and turncoat members of the German police and elite forces GSG 9 and KSK who are 'known' to the security services.

'These saboteurs with elite education are no negligible factor - they are targeted for crisis situations and trained to trigger unrest after assessing intelligence documents,' he added.

The Russian paramilitaries, he claimed, now hold 'real manouvres in the Swiss mountains, operate across borders and are particularly strong in Czech Republic where they mostly exercise.'