Germany is investigating a second incident of suspected sabotage targeting its electricity grid, renewing fears of a Russian hybrid warfare campaign. The latest event occurred Tuesday evening at a power substation near Bergheim in western Germany, police reported. Separately, a critical installation near the Janschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg was targeted with rockets on Tuesday morning.
Authorities are investigating the Bergheim incident as premeditated vandalism on the technical infrastructure. While a police spokesperson declined to specify the damage, they confirmed that the region's power supply was not affected. The grid operator Amprion stated that external interference was likely responsible but that grid stability was maintained.
However, the incident prompted RWE, a major power producer and majority owner of Amprion, to take five lignite power plant units with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts offline. One 600 MW block has since been reconnected.
In Brandenburg, power plant operator LEAG confirmed that unknown perpetrators allegedly caused damage to several lines in the 50Hertz transmission network. Brandenburg's Interior Minister Jan Redmann called the incident an "act of sabotage." The Janschwalde plant is the largest lignite-fired power plant in the state.
Redmann noted potential parallels between the Brandenburg and Bergheim incidents but stressed that investigations were in their early stages. He also acknowledged differences compared to a 2024 arson attack on Tesla's German plant, but did not rule out any suspects. He called for enhanced protection for energy supply facilities.
These recent events follow Berlin's formal accusation that Russia was responsible for an explosive-laden drone incident at a strategic airport in Leipzig on August 4. Germany, a NATO member and supporter of Ukraine, has long accused Moscow of engaging in hybrid attacks, including espionage and sabotage, allegations that Russia denies.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany has increasingly "found itself in the crosshairs of hybrid attackers." Following the Leipzig airport incident, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described it as fitting the "well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe." Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, accused Germany of fabricating evidence to blame Moscow for the drone attack.
German officials have considered countermeasures such as expelling Russian diplomats or closing Russia's consulate in Bonn. There has also been discussion about shutting down the Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin, which security services suspect is an intelligence hub.
Moscow has been accused of conducting a shadow war across Europe, employing tactics such as sabotage, cyberattacks, drones, disinformation, and intimidation. Russian cyber units have targeted critical systems, including power plants, since the mid-2010s. In 2022, a cyberattack on the Viasat satellite internet system, which caused widespread outages, was condemned as Russian by the EU, US, and UK.
In a separate development, President Putin renewed threats against Britain, stating that potential attacks on UK factories would be a "military secret." This statement followed the UK's agreement to supply Ukraine with blueprints for long-range missiles. Putin also asserted that any "British military facilities" within Ukraine were "absolutely" a Russian target.