Sabotage Attempt at Substation in Dormagen: Police Discover Rocket Devices
Suspicious launch devices for homemade rockets have been discovered near a substation in Dormagen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Police are treating the incident as a deliberate sabotage attempt.
Rocket Devices Found in Field Near Substation
A passer-by discovered suspicious objects in a field in the Dormagen district of Gohr on Thursday at around 18:15, near a substation. According to BILD information, they were launch devices for homemade rockets, to which time-delay switches and copper wires were attached.
Cologne police are treating the incident as a deliberate sabotage attempt. "Someone apparently tried to deliberately cause a short circuit," said a spokesman. Investigators also have a claim of responsibility letter in their possession that refers to attacks on substations in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Jänschwalde, Brandenburg, which had occurred shortly beforehand.
Devices Did Not Activate – Large-Scale Operation Overnight
According to the investigation so far, the objects that were found had not activated. "Nothing happened," confirmed a police spokeswoman. Whether there was a technical defect or the time-delay switches were only supposed to activate at a later time remained unclear initially.
Police mobilised extensive resources and cordoned off the area widely. The surrounding fields were searched with searchlights, and a helicopter circled over the discovery site. Fire service personnel supported the operation. Officers also checked further substations in the region for suspicious objects.
Connection to Attacks in Bergheim and Jänschwalde
The Dormagen substation is just 13 kilometres away from the substation of the brown coal power station in Bergheim. Both facilities, as well as the substation near the Jänschwalde power station in Brandenburg, were targeted in attacks on Tuesday. The devices found in Dormagen are said to be similar to those from the two earlier attack sites. In all cases, investigations are underway on suspicion of attacks on critical infrastructure. Investigators are examining possible connections between the incidents.
Claim of Responsibility Letter Cites "Fossil Fuels" as Motive
The left-wing newspaper "taz" stated that it received a claim of responsibility letter regarding the Brandenburg incident. According to the postmark, it was allegedly sent from North Rhine-Westphalia. The sender describes himself as acting alone and describes the rockets in detail. He cites the "immeasurable suffering" caused by the use of fossil fuels as his motive. However, the "taz" emphasises that it is unclear whether the author is actually the perpetrator.
Federal Economics Ministry Sees Need for Action
The Federal Economics Ministry commented on the incidents. A spokesman told the Editorial Network Germany of the need to "consistently strengthen" the resilience of the electricity system. As evidence of the urgent need for action, he cited Russia's war of aggression, increased sabotage acts against the economy, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. From the ministry's perspective, sabotage against critical infrastructure represented "a serious threat".
Source: BILD