A NATO AWACS takes off from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany, to provide air and maritime surveillance over Romania, March 14, 2014. (Andrea Hohenforst/NATO)
Germany is investigating possible Russian sabotage at two military bases where attempts were apparently made to contaminate drinking water, according to a senior lawmaker in Berlin.
The two facilities allegedly targeted are a Bundeswehr base at Cologne-Wahn and a NATO airfield in nearby Geilenkirchen. Ulrich Fonrobert, a spokesman for the German military, said a hole had been cut in the fence around the Cologne base overnight though the person or people responsible had not been located.
A warning system had indicated “abnormal values” in water quality, suggesting the water system was being targeted, Fonrobert told reporters Wednesday at a news conference.
Donny Demmers, NATO spokesperson at Geilenkirchen, said a suspect tried to get access to the facility on Tuesday evening, but security guards thwarted the attempt.
“Because we know what happened in Cologne, we checked our water facilities. They weren’t accessed by any intruders,” he added.
Marcus Faber, the chairman of the defense committee in the lower house of parliament in Berlin, told Bloomberg that “the suspicion of sabotage is firming up” at the Cologne site, which is a hub for the aircraft used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet.
“Further investigations will show whether my initial suspicions are confirmed that Russia is behind this,” Faber said, adding that committee members are being continually updated on the probe.
A spokesman for the Russian government didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Konstantin von Notz, the chairman of the parliamentary committee that oversees Germany’s intelligence services, reiterated a warning about an intensified hybrid war being waged by Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Germany is the second-biggest military and financial backer of the government in Kyiv after the U.S.
“There are cyber attacks almost on a daily basis,” von Notz was quoted as saying Wednesday by the RND media group.
“There are very broad disinformation campaigns that promote anti-democratic parties and individuals in Germany, Europe and the USA and that are intended to divide our society, plus there is also espionage and sabotage,” he said.
With assistance from Ilya Arkhipov and Andrea Palasciano.
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