German police are treating two attacks on electricity infrastructure as suspected sabotage after incidents in the east and west of the country on Tuesday. Security officials say the two events may be connected. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the assessment fits the known pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe, a claim Moscow denies.
Explosives in the east
The first incident happened early Tuesday at the Turnow-Preilack substation in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Police said improvised explosives were fired at the site and damaged power cables. Investigators have opened a terrorism probe into the attack. Germany has reported suspicious drone sightings over military and industrial sites for months, and officials have long warned about the risk of attacks on critical infrastructure.
A short circuit in the west
On Tuesday evening, a short circuit knocked several power lines out of service at a substation in Bergheim, near Cologne in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. No blackout was reported, but operator RWE took five coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts offline. "We are not assuming a technical failure but a deliberate act," a local police spokesperson said. Investigators believe the perpetrators placed conductive material, presumably cables, over an overhead line to cause the fault. Officials from both regions are checking for connections between the incidents.
Rising tension with Russia
The attacks come days after Berlin publicly blamed Moscow for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport last month. A drone found at the airport on the night of August 4-5 carried explosives. On September 1, Germany's accusations drew a response from Russia, which summoned Germany's charge d'affaires in Moscow. German authorities have identified two suspects in the Leipzig case but may not be able to detain them, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported. Germany, a NATO member that supports Ukraine, has long accused Russia of running a campaign of hybrid attacks involving espionage and sabotage.