Explosive devices have been located near the towns of Schleife and Lösa, close to the Brandenburg border. Police are currently inspecting high-voltage lines and the surrounding area for traces and other potential explosive devices. Police spokesperson Anja Leuschner confirmed the operation but declined to provide further details for tactical reasons.
This discovery comes in the wake of previous assaults on Germany’s energy infrastructure. On September 2, damage was reported at a substation in Turnow-Przyłęk, about 50 kilometers from the recent incidents, where aerial lines and missile-like explosive devices were found. According to Bild, these devices were intended to cause short circuits during attacks on high-voltage lines. On the same day, a diversionary attack occurred at the Bergheim substation near Cologne.
Bild also reported on a 49-year-old man from North Rhine-Westphalia who allegedly claimed responsibility for these attacks in a multi-page letter signed with his full name. In the letter, he asserted accountability for the short circuits occurring in several locations. Police conducted a search of his apartment in Gevelsberg, but the man is reportedly in hiding.
In his letter, he described fossil fuel power generation as the cause of “unspeakable suffering” and criticized politicians and the media for not taking the issue seriously enough. He suggested that this lack of seriousness prompted his actions.
Context
- The connection of this incident to the diversionary activities of foreign states remains unclear. However, in early August, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that the country faces daily hybrid warfare threats from foreign nations, particularly the aggressor state of Russia. He noted that these threats include espionage, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and covert operations aimed at destabilizing Germany and inflicting direct harm. Bundestag member Roderich Kiesewetter remarked that Russia employs “the entire toolkit of hybrid warfare and state terrorism.”
