A large power station Germany was targeted today by ‘homemade explosive missiles’, such as Berlin was formally guilty Russia for an incident involving an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport last month.
Local media reported that a key installation near the Janschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg was repeatedly bombarded with rockets this morning, while emergency services discovered and defused additional devices.
Police have not yet confirmed that the site was attacked with rockets. Speaking to the German news agency, they said possible damage to a power line had been discovered and bomb disposal experts were on the scene.
They added that several improvised explosive devices and incendiary devices were also discovered following a possible property damage incident earlier today.
According to the police, there was no danger to the public and the incident did not cause a power outage.
German Interior Minister Jan Redmann later called the incident an “act of sabotage” and added that the number of devices found, currently in double figures, was still rising.
In a statement released on Tuesday, power plant operator LEAG confirmed: ‘This morning, September 1, 2026, unknown perpetrators are said to have caused damage to several lines in the 50Hertz transmission network.’
The Janschwalde lignite power station is the largest in Brandenburg.
It comes as Berlin is today set to formally blame Russia for an incident involving an explosives-laden drone at a strategic airport last month.
The Janschwalde lignite power station is the largest in Brandenburg (file photo)
An explosive ordnance disposal robot is deployed near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are expected to address the media later in the day, according to the daily Bild, news site Der Spiegel and other media.
NATO member Germany, which is backing Ukraine in its fight against Russia, has long accused Moscow of attacking the country with a campaign of hybrid attacks involving espionage and sabotage – accusations denied by Russia.
Germany has been reporting suspicious drone sightings over military and industrial sites for months, but the incident in Leipzig on the night of August 4 raised alarms when a drone found there was carrying explosives.
Police used a robot to disarm the device found near a Ukrainian cargo plane, and weeks later another drone was reportedly found near the airport, also with traces of an explosive substance.
The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods, including by the German army and NATO allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said that Germany was increasingly “in the crosshairs of hybrid attackers.”
But Berlin has so far refrained from blaming Russia and only talked about the possible involvement of “foreign powers.”
According to media reports on Tuesday, Berlin is now pointing the finger at a Russian intelligence service.
Merz had warned on August 25 that perpetrators of hybrid attacks on Germany would “pay for it”, without naming a target.
Der Spiegel said possible countermeasures could include the expulsion of Russian diplomats and the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn.
The tail surfaces of a DHL freighter and Ukrainian Antonov freighters at Leipzig/Halle Airport
The Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin, a seven-story building opened in 1984 in what was then East Berlin, is located near the Russian Embassy
There has also been much discussion about whether Germany should close a Russian cultural center in Berlin, which security services say is an intelligence center.
The Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin, a seven-story building opened in 1984 in what was then East Berlin, is located near the Russian Embassy.
Conservative lawmaker and security policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter recently told Welt TV that the facility is believed to be a hub for espionage.
He said more than 100 people lived there “without anyone knowing who they are” and that the building’s power consumption is disproportionately high.
It was “presumably filled with technical surveillance equipment,” he said, and was used by “people who are not friendly to Germany.”
Moscow has already been accused of waging a shadow war across Europe through sabotage, cyber attacks, drones, disinformation and intimidation – tactics designed to cause disruption while falling below the threshold for a military response.
Russian cyber units have targeted critical systems, including power plants, since at least mid-2010.
On the day Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a cyberattack on the Viasat satellite internet system caused disruptions in Central and Eastern Europe. The EU, US and UK later condemned the attack as Russian.
The Nordic and Baltic countries have also recently reported an increase in GPS jamming and spoofing since 2022, affecting civilian aircraft, ships and drones.
