Russian Saboteurs Behind Arson Attack at German Factory

BERLIN—As fire swept through a sprawling factory owned by a company that manufactures air-defense systems, thick, dark smoke spread through a neighborhood of luxury villas and diplomatic residences. Police warnings blared, ordering people to shelter indoors.

In the aftermath of last month’s blaze on the outskirts of the German capital, German investigators said the cause was likely an accident. But Western security officials now say the fire was set by Russian saboteurs trying disrupt shipments of critical arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

European countries, seeking to avoid escalation, have been cautious about publicly blaming Moscow, but privately security officials say Russia appears to be stepping up attacks on civilian and military sites and people in Europe connected with efforts to help Ukraine fend off invading Russian troops.

The German factory belongs to Diehl Metal Applications, part of the Diehl group, a defense contractor. It produces and processes metal parts for various applications. The factory has since resumed operations.

The company said Friday that a report by its insurers said a technical problem caused the fire. A company representative said Friday that the technical problem could “in theory” have been caused by sabotage.

German police say they are investigating. A representative for the internal security service said Friday that no possible cause, including sabotage, could be excluded.

The fire at the Diehl factory likely started in an area to which only a few people had access, according to an official familiar with the investigation, and all CCTV footage was lost in the fire. A number of recent incidents that had been considered accidents should be re-evaluated in light of recent events, the official said.

In the case of Diehl, electronic-communications intercepts that provided evidence of Russia’s involvement weren’t admissible in German courts, preventing authorities from clearly attributing the attack and pursuing criminal charges, two German officials said. The intercepts, which were passed on to the German government by an intelligence agency of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, were first reported by the Bild newspaper in Germany.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the security officials said, dozens of incidents have taken place across Europe, many potentially the work of Russia’s intelligence services aiming to curb arms production, pressure politicians and sow panic.

Targeting civilian infrastructure, such as wind farms and pipelines, also aims at intimidating investors as European economies are struggling, officials say. Data cables and pipelines in the Arctic and the Baltic Sea regions were cut by civilian ships linked to Russia, according to prosecutors, investigators and government officials.

The arson attack on the factory in Germany is believed to have been the work of experienced professionals, the security officials said. But, they said, Russia often uses civilians, predominantly criminals, recruited on social-media networks and paid in cryptocurrency.

Russian spymasters have turned to Telegram, a popular social-media app, for recruiting. And some people might not even be aware they are working for Russia. Moscow has increasingly sought to attract Russian-speaking Ukrainian migrants in Europe, intelligence and law-enforcement officials say.

“This is like the gig economy for sabotage and terror—perpetrators get recruited like Uber drivers, but the effect is often the same as with using professionals,” a senior western security official said.

Earlier this month, a man was charged with an attempted act of terrorism on behalf of Russia in the Czech Republic, another NATO ally, for allegedly trying to set public buses on fire.

“It is part of a hybrid war waged against us by Russia against which we have to defend ourselves and which we must stop,” the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said about the case. “Russia is repeatedly trying to sow unrest and undermine our citizens’ trust in the state.”

Suspected attacks that were planned or have taken place in the last two years include sabotage of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic; an arson attack in Britain, which triggered the expulsion of the Russian military attaché from the country; and a simultaneous cutting of two data cables that paralyzed part of the German railway system for hours.

Two German-Russian dual nationals were arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning attacks on American military bases and other targets, shortly before caches of explosives were discovered buried along a special overland pipeline that supplies air force bases in Germany.

Write to Bojan Pancevski at [email protected]