Sabotage at German Substations Apparently Linked to “Climate Extremism”

Germany’s interior minister said attacks on electrical substations may have been carried out by a suspected lone perpetrator motivated by what authorities called “climate extremism.” The suspect remained at large as police searched for evidence and examined possible links between several incidents.

The latest incident occurred near Bergheim, west of Cologne, where residents reported flashes and explosions at a substation. Police treated the event as deliberate and searched nearby fields. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the suspected motive involved criticism of energy production from fossil fuels, but stressed that the investigation and the broader context of the attacks remained unresolved.

North Rhine-Westphalia authorities were seeking a 48-year-old suspect from Gevelsberg. Police found items suspected of being connected to explosives at his home. On Friday afternoon, a special operations unit stormed a truck in a forest near Niederzier, about 100 kilometers away. The vehicle appeared to have been converted into a motorhome, but the suspect was not inside and may have escaped on foot.

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Climate extremism.

The two letters claiming responsibility were considered authentic at that stage of the investigation, officials said. Police still had many questions, including whether the man acted alone. Herbert Reul, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, said the suspect “will not get far.”

A passerby had also found a suspicious object near a substation in Dormagen, between Cologne and Düsseldorf, on Thursday evening. It may have been a launching device. Unknown attackers had additionally targeted power lines in Jänschwalde, Brandenburg, and Bergheim. Police searched the area around the Weisweiler power plant near Aachen and found several thin wires, adding to the security response around Germany’s critical energy infrastructure.

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He will not get far.