Germany records over 165 suspected acts of sabotage since beginning of year

German law enforcement authorities have registered more than 165 suspected acts of sabotage and nearly 750 incidents involving suspicious drones over military sites and critical infrastructure since the beginning of 2026.

Source: Germany newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing a confidential report by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)

Details: The document was drawn up based on the findings from the first months of work by the Joint Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats (GAZ-Hybrid), which opened in Berlin in mid-June. The threats recorded also included cases of espionage that did not involve drones.

Germany's Federal Prosecutor General and state prosecutors have opened 24 criminal investigations into espionage this year. Half of these concern cyberattacks. Another 40 investigations into suspected cyber espionage are ongoing.

Overall, police have registered 112 offences linked to espionage. More than 60 cases involved unauthorised photography or filming of military sites or equipment, while in 26 incidents law enforcement authorities suspect intelligence activity aimed at carrying out acts of sabotage. The highest numbers were recorded in Brandenburg (23 offences), North Rhine-Westphalia (21), Schleswig-Holstein (21) and Lower Saxony (15).

In addition, security authorities recorded 747 cases involving suspicious drones. These included 1,068 drone flights over critical infrastructure, military bases and defence industry plants.

Drone operators are very rarely arrested. However, in July, authorities in Bavaria detained a Moldovan citizen who had used a drone to spy on a facility belonging to defence company KNDS. Investigators believe he was acting on instructions from Russian intelligence services.

The document also describes an incident that took place on 9 August near a gas processing plant in Grossenkneten, Lower Saxony. A security guard at the facility was trying to locate the operators of drones that had been spotted when he encountered two unidentified people wearing balaclavas near the fence. The suspects slammed his head against the bonnet of a car and fled. They have not been found.

Background:

• In April 2024, authorities in Bavaria detained two agents who held dual Russian and German citizenship. They had been monitoring US military bases and planning attacks on routes used to transport military aid to Ukraine.
• In July 2024, a parcel caught fire at a DHL cargo terminal at Leipzig Airport. German intelligence services later stressed that a cargo plane disaster had been avoided only because the flight was delayed by chance and said Russia was behind the sabotage.
• In July 2026, a fire broke out on a railway line in western Germany between Düsseldorf and Cologne, damaging signalling cables and disrupting train services. Law enforcement authorities are investigating the incident as a possible act of sabotage.
• On 4 August, a drone carrying explosives was found at Leipzig/Halle Airport near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. Three drones were found in total near the airport. Evidence discovered at the scene indicates that Russia attempted to blow up aircraft.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!