Germany|Many other cases that were thought to be accidents should be re-evaluated in the light of new information, a representative of the German security services told The Wall Street Journal.
Factory fire There may have been Russian sabotage on the outskirts of Berlin and not an accident, German The Bild – newspaper reported a few days ago based on its intelligence sources.
According to the newspaper, foreign intelligence services have concrete evidence of Russia’s involvement in the factory fire that happened at the beginning of May.
American The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) confirmed the same claims in an article published on Sunday. Security services believe the German arson was the work of “seasoned professionals” and that it was aimed at disrupting the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, the WSJ reported.
A representative of the German security services said on Friday that no reason can be ruled out, not even sabotage. According to the safety authority, many other cases that were thought to be accidents should be re-evaluated, the WSJ reported.
May 3rd Thick clouds of black smoke billowed from the Diehl Metal Applications factory on the outskirts of Berlin. According to the authorities the fire involved a factory building where chemicals are stored.
At first the fire was considered an accident. However, last Friday, Diehl’s representative said that the fire was caused by a technical fault, the cause of which could “theoretically” be sabotage, WSJ writes.
The factory fire started in premises that only a few people have access to. The surveillance camera images were destroyed in the fire.
Factory belongs, among other things, to the Diehl Group operating in the arms and defense industry, which manufactures Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft systems used in Ukraine.
However, the fire factory in Berlin does not manufacture them, but metal parts for cars, for example, says Bild.
It is not clear why a metal production rather than a defense factory was chosen as the target in Berlin. Bild suggests that the target may have been selected based on its location.
The factory has since continued to operate.
Europeans intelligence services have previously warned The governments of European countries about the damage planned by Russia. According to security authorities, Russia appears to be carrying out attacks in Europe on civilian and military targets that deliver aid to Ukraine.
Russia are suspected of several acts of sabotage, such as assaults, arson, and attempted arson across Europe. Cases have come to light at least in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and possibly also in Sweden.
In May Nine people were arrested in Poland suspected of alleged acts of sabotage.
In April, the German police arrested two men, whom it suspects of spying for Russia. According to the police, one of them was planning an attack that would have targeted military targets maintained by US forces in Germany.
Several other suspects have been arrested during the spring in Germany, Austria and Estonia on suspicion of spying for Russia or other cooperation with the Russian intelligence service.
It is believed to be behind the operations Russian military intelligence GRU.
Previously in June, the foreign ministers of eight EU countries require restricting the movement of Russian diplomats and their families within the EU.
Also the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO wants to respond to the actions of Russian spies and saboteurs in Europe.
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