Authorities are reporting significantly higher numbers of sabotage and espionage incidents in Germany this year than were previously made public. According to a confidential assessment by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), cited by NDR, WDR, and the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, more than 165 suspected acts of sabotage were registered by the end of August.
Of particular concern are the attacks targeting energy supply, where improvised projectiles damaged high-voltage lines. In these cases, prosecutors are investigating the events as either terrorism or subversive acts against the constitution.
In addition to sabotage, investigations into espionage have been initiated in 24 cases, 12 of which specifically concern cyber espionage. Overall, German federal and state police have identified 112 crimes related to espionage. The most frequent offense involves the unauthorized photographing or filming of military facilities, and in some instances, agent activity suspected of serving sabotage purposes is also being pursued. The main regions of these espionage incidents include Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, and Lower Saxony.
The number of suspicious drone sightings remains high. Between January and the end of August, 747 occurrences were recorded, involving 1,068 drones flying over critical infrastructure. Identifying the drone pilots is rare. A striking incident occurred in July when a Moldavian man was arrested in Bavaria for allegedly spying on an armaments company using a drone. According to the investigative network spanning NDR, WDR, and the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, investigators suspect he was working on behalf of state entities in Russia.
