Following German recognition of the prevented explosive drone attack on one of the country's strategic airports as deliberate act of Russian hybrid warfare, a new series of suspected sabotage acts is actively being carried out throughout the country.
Berlin first made accusations against Moscow, following the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at a strategic German aviation hub on 4 August. After that, a second drone struck a DHL cargo plane in the area and a third drone carrying explosives surfaced on 22 August.
More recently, explosives have been found at the site of a Belgian-owned electrical substation in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, according to the German press agency DPA.
Around 8:00 on 1 September, possible damage was detected to a high-voltage line at the site in Turnow-Preilack, approximately 100 kilometres from Berlin.
The investigation is being handled by the national public prosecutor's office. The high-voltage infrastructure is operated by 50Hertz, a subsidiary of the Belgian high-voltage group Elia.
"Evidence is being secured, and specialists are on site," said a police spokesperson. The items found were described as improvised explosives and firebombs.
The regional newspaper Märkische Allgemeine previously reported that emergency services had discovered and dismantled several mechanisms designed to fire explosive projectiles.
The grid operator 50Hertz, responsible for the affected high-voltage infrastructure, confirms that an attempt was made to cause damage. There was a brief outage, but all lines are now operational again, the company stated, confirming that the damage was caused by homemade projectiles resembling fireworks rockets. Projectiles that had not yet been fired were also found at the site.
In addition, on the evening of the same day German police discovered another likely deliberate act of sabotage. The incident concerned high-voltage infrastructure, this time near an Amprion electricity substation in Bergheim, close to Cologne.
Police said they do not believe a technical fault was to blame and are treating the case as an intentional act. It is the second such incident in a short period.
Then, on 2 September, train services at Augsburg’s main station in Germany were suspended shortly after 08:00 after a suspicious object was found, prompting police to seal off the station and deploy personnel in large numbers.
This escalation triggers an immediate diplomatic response: government officials plan to push for expanded European Union sanctions against specific individuals. Border agents will also enforce stricter entry protocols for Russian citizens. The Foreign Office has summoned the Russian ambassador to Berlin to address the security breach.
