Likely Russia is behind sabotage at German military bases, Bundestag members conclude

Incidents at two military bases in Germany are probably related to a Russian sabotage operation, according to Bundestag Members, Markus Faber and Konstantin von Notz, as reported by Die Welt. 

On August 14th, access to military barracks near Cologne was restricted due to suspicion that saboteurs might have contaminated the drinking water. On the same day, the NATO air base in Geilenkirchen also had to be closed due to suspected sabotage.

“Due to the temporal proximity of the incidents at the two barracks, it can be assumed that an adversarial entity wants to demonstrate its sabotage capabilities here with us. The entity most interested in this right now is Putin,” said Faber, chair of the German Bundestag’s defense committee.

Russia has sufficient meticulousness to carry out such actions, believes Konstantin von Notz from the Green Party and chairman of the Bundestag’s parliamentary control committee. “Of course, there is suspicion that this could be a Russian sabotage operation. … No one should doubt that something like this is possible,” he said.

In April of this year, two agents working for Russian intelligence services were arrested in Bavaria, Germany, for planning sabotage against military infrastructure. The perpetrators aimed to undermine military support for Ukraine, Spiegel reported.