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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Drones, Arson and Substation Short Circuits: Europe Uncovers Suspected Russian Sabotage Operations

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Denmark’s intelligence service said it had detected a specific Russian sabotage plan targeting a Danish defense company and supplies supporting Ukraine’s defense.
  • Germany and Poland are investigating suspected attacks involving a substation short circuit, explosive-carrying drones and fires at defense and industrial facilities.
  • Officials in Poland and Lithuania called for stronger action against possible Russian hybrid attacks, while Moscow denied responsibility for the German drone incident.

Across Europe, suspected sabotage incidents are accumulating around the infrastructure that supports Ukraine, from defense factories and drone equipment plants to power grids and airport logistics.

The main objective is to stop the supply of specific materials for Ukraine’s defense.

· Emil GreshoermDenmark’s counterintelligence chief described the alleged aim of the Russian sabotage plan.

Denmark’s Police Intelligence Service said it had detected a concrete Russian plan aimed at a Danish defense company. Counterintelligence chief Emil Greshoerm said the main objective was “to stop the supply of specific materials for Ukraine’s defense.” He said the operation could also seek to weaken Denmark’s support for Ukraine and its efforts to strengthen its own defenses.

Greshoerm warned that Russian operatives could ask ordinary citizens to photograph companies or facilities, using them for intelligence gathering without the participants’ knowledge. He emphasized that Ukrainian defense suppliers in Denmark were being targeted.

They are targeting Ukrainian defense companies in Denmark.

· Emil GreshoermHe emphasized the alleged focus of the operation.

Germany has officially attributed an explosive-carrying drone incident at Leipzig-Halle Airport on Aug. 4 to Russia, a charge Moscow has rejected as based on fabricated evidence. German authorities are also examining suspected attacks on the power grid. At a substation in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, unidentified people allegedly placed conductive material over transmission lines, deliberately causing a short circuit. State Interior Minister Herbert Reul said an unknown perpetrator had caused the fault deliberately and that authorities suspected an unconstitutional sabotage offense.

An unknown perpetrator deliberately caused the short circuit.

· Herbert ReulThe North Rhine-Westphalia interior minister described the suspected substation attack.

A similar device was found near the Jänschwalde power plant in Brandenburg, where transmission lines were damaged. State Interior Minister Jan Redmann said sabotage could not be ruled out and that foreign involvement remained possible. Poland is investigating fires at WB Electronics, which produces drone-related equipment used by Polish and Ukrainian forces, and at a factory near Lublin. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the WB Electronics fire “sabotage” after CCTV showed a masked man setting it. Lithuania’s defense minister, Roberta Kaunas, said NATO must be able to respond appropriately to Russia’s hybrid-attack threat. Russia has denied responsibility for the German drone case.

Sabotage

· Donald TuskPoland’s prime minister used the term to describe the fire at WB Electronics.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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