Frankfurt: A third attempt to short circuit an electricity grid transformer in western Germany on Friday has led to a heightened state of alert after two suspected sabotage attempts in the last week targeted the same facility. Police in the city of Cologne say they had information about a letter purporting to claim responsibility for attempted sabotage, as well as an incident of vandalism that took 4,200 megawatts of generating capacity offline on Tuesday. They declined to give further details while the investigation was active .
Local newspapers reported that a man claiming responsibility had identified himself in the letters but that it was unclear if his story was true.
Germany is at the center of European concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and whether the country now faces a form of 'hybrid warfare' originating from Russia. Last month Germany blamed a drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport on Moscow and said it was an attempt intimidate and divide countries that have supported Ukraine. Russia has dismissed the allegations.
The sabotage attempt comes just before an important regional election in the state of Saxony Anhalt, where the Alternetif fer Deutchland (AfD) holds a commanding lead in pre election polling. Germany’s interior ministry said it was “no coincidence” that such “hybrid attacks” were happening on the eve of the election. The AfD is considered a far right party in the German political spectrum and has consistently put forward policy positions that favour closer ties with Russia.
A spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the number of attacks that had been foiled or been unsuccessful were “a sign of how our security measures work and that they do work”.
