Germany investigates ‘state-sponsored sabotage’ after attacks on power grids

Germany is investigating “state-sponsored sabotage and left-wing extremism” after an attempted attack on the power grid near Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said Wednesday.

Reul told a news conference that there was an “initial suspicion” of an anti-constitutional act after unidentified suspects targeted a substation in the Rheidt district of Bergheim.

Officials are examining two possibilities, “foreign-state directed sabotage and left-wing extremism,” he said, adding that neither can be ruled out.

“That was intentional, that was a crime,” Reul said. “Whoever goes after that is attacking our country.”

He said the suspects apparently placed conductive material — possibly cables — on an overhead line, causing a short circuit.

Police were called to the site Tuesday evening after witnesses reported bright flashes, local media reported. Several lines were affected. Officers sealed off a wide area, deployed a helicopter and expanded the crime-scene search.

Investigators weigh link between attacks

Michael Esser, criminal director of the Cologne police, told reporters they had found six devices in the area believed to be connected to the sabotage attempt.

The devices were designed to use pyrotechnic items to propel a wire upward and over power lines, causing short circuits on extra-high-voltage lines.

“Our investigation is still in its early stages. We are classifying this act as an attack on critical infrastructure,” Esser said. “Naturally, we are also examining potential links to a recent incident in Brandenburg. We are working very closely with our colleagues there,” he added, but declined to provide further details.

Earlier on Tuesday, unidentified suspects carried out a similar sabotage attack on an electrical facility near the Jaenschwalde plant, one of Germany’s largest brown-coal power stations in eastern Brandenburg near the Polish border. Using a similar homemade device and pyrotechnic items, they caused short circuits on extra-high-voltage lines.

Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann said authorities were investigating in all directions. “We cannot currently rule out any particular perpetrators,” he said. “This is a hybrid threat we are currently witnessing, and as such, we cannot rule out the possibility that foreign powers are behind it.”

Brandenburg police said they are also investigating whether a terrorist organization could be behind the sabotage attempt.

A spokesman for the Federal Interior Ministry told Anadolu that authorities were investigating whether the recent sabotage attempts were linked and whether they formed part of hybrid attacks by foreign powers. “They are all the subject of ongoing investigations,” the spokesman said, adding that the results would be shared with the media once officials had solid findings.