News - Bloomberg: Germany suspects Russia in sabotage at 2 military bases

Germany is investigating possible Russian sabotage at two military bases where attempts were apparently made to contaminate drinking water, according to a senior lawmaker in Berlin, reports Bloomberg. The two facilities allegedly targeted are a Bundeswehr base at Cologne-Wahn and a NATO airfield in nearby Geilenkirchen. Ulrich Fonrobert, a spokesman for the German military, said a hole had been cut in the fence around the Cologne base overnight though the person or people responsible had not been located. A warning system had indicated “abnormal values” in water quality, suggesting the water system was being targeted, Fonrobert told reporters on Wednesday at a news conference. In turn, Donny Demmers, NATO spokesperson at Geilenkirchen, said a suspect tried to get access to the facility on Tuesday evening, but security guards thwarted the attempt. “Because we know what happened in Cologne, we checked our water facilities. They weren’t accessed by any intruders,” he added. Marcus Faber, the chairman of the defense committee in the lower house of parliament in Berlin, said that “the suspicion of sabotage is firming up” at the Cologne site, which is a hub for the aircraft used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet. “Further investigations will show whether my initial suspicions are confirmed that Russia is behind this,” Faber said, adding that committee members are being continually updated on the probe.