Germany seals off army base over suspected sabotage of water supplies

Counter-intelligence services and military police are investigating at barracks near Cologne that houses 4,000 troops

German military police have sealed off an army barracks near Cologne amid suspicions that the drinking water supplies have been sabotaged.
Soldiers have been ordered not to drink the tap water in the barracks, which houses about 4,000 soldiers and is close to a regional airport.
The Bundeswehr’s counter-intelligence services and military police are investigating the possibility that sabotage was involved, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported, adding that the barracks may have been broken into.
According to the German tabloid Bild, some of the soldiers serve as crew for government aircraft in the region. An internal memo seen by Der Spiegel has asked soldiers to question any “unknown persons” still on the site and to report any “suspicious behaviour”.
If sabotage is confirmed, suspicion will likely fall on Russia as in recent months it has waged a hybrid war campaign on Europe targeting key infrastructure, in revenge for Western support of the Ukrainian army.
There has been a string of suspected Russian sabotage attacks in Germany, Poland and Britain, targeting arms factories and Ukraine-linked businesses.
In May, a major fire broke out at an arms factory in Berlin operated by Diehl, a key German defence company which is supporting the war effort in Ukraine.
German authorities initially said the fire was an accident, but then received an intelligence briefing from an undisclosed Nato ally which suggested that Russia was behind the blaze.
In April, German authorities arrested two German-Russian citizens on suspicion of plotting to attack a military site in Bavaria which also provides support to Kyiv’s forces.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, a senior German intelligence figure warned that the country was a key target for Russian sabotage efforts.
“Germany … as it is located in the middle of Europe, is a wonderful target for all types of logistical sabotage. Almost any supply for Ukraine has to go through Germany,” said Stephan Kramer, head of domestic intelligence in the state of Thuringia.
“Combined with the political situation – a good portion of Germans in the east are pro-Russia, doubting [their] own government and public structures – and the unsecured critical infrastructure, this is the classical battleground for a successful hybrid warfare,” he added.
Mr Kramer also expressed concerns that Russia was “feeding into feelings of chaos and the delegitimisation of public structures on all channels” in Germany.