Climate extremist is arrested over German electricity sabotage - after fears it was Russian hybrid war attack

A climate extremist has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a series of sabotage attacks on Germany's electricity grid last week.The sabotage attempts had sparked fears that Russia was deliberately targeting Germany through a hybrid campaign aimed at sabotaging its critical infrastructure. The suspect, identified as 48-year-old Daniel V., was detained near Weisweiler in western Germany, ending a manhunt that began when authorities received letters claiming responsibility for attacks on electricity substations in three German states.Police said the suspect was carrying explosive devices when he was detained.Officers also found a nearby tent where he was thought to have spent the night that contained further explosive charges, which bomb disposal experts were examining.Investigators remained at the scene on Tuesday collecting evidence and checking whether other launch devices had been set up in the surrounding area.The local prosecutor's office, which announced the man's detention, said it was investigating a September 1 attack near the Jaenschwalde coal-fired power plant, where overhead lines at a substation were targeted and investigators found several improvised explosive devices, some of which did not function.The probe in Brandenburg state in northeastern Germany is being conducted on charges of causing an explosion and disrupting public utilities, and additional charges are being considered, it said. German forensic experts prepare after police detained Daniel V., a 48-year-old man suspected of carrying out a series of sabotage attacks on the country's electricity grid, in Weisweiler, Germany, September 8, 2026 Police said the suspect was carrying explosive devices when he was detained. Pictured: German police drives near a power plant in Weisweiler, Germany, September 8, 2026, after they detained Daniel VAuthorities said similar incidents were reported in North Rhine-Westphalia on September 1 and in Saxony on September 4, but said the investigations in the three states had not yet been combined into one.German police had been searching for the suspect since last week, when they received letters claiming responsibility for a series of attacks on the power grid, citing opposition to fossil fuels as a motive.The suspect has also claimed responsibility for an attack on a substation in Bergheim near Cologne that knocked five power generation units offline after conductive material was apparently launched onto high-voltage infrastructure, officials said last week.Another suspected sabotage attempt claimed by ​the wanted man was discovered in Dormagen, south of Duesseldorf, where a passer-by spotted pipes fitted with cables and timers aimed at a substation. Police subsequently found two launch devices.Commenting on the case last week, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said it was likely a case of 'climate extremism' but that it was unclear whether the man had acted alone, had accomplices or was acting on behalf of a third party.The incidents raised suspicions about Russia, which was recently blamed for an incident involving an explosive-laden drone at a strategic airport in Germany last month.Nato member Germany, which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia, has long accused Moscow of targeting it with a campaign of hybrid attacks involving espionage and sabotage - charges denied by Russia. German police officers secure the area after a second sabotage attempt on Germany's electricity grid, with local police saying they are investigating an attack on a substation in Bergheim, Germany, September 2, 2026Germany has for months reported suspicious drone sightings over military and industrial sites, but the Leipzig incident on the night of August 4 raised the alarm as a drone found there carried explosives.Police used a robot to defuse the device found near a Ukrainian cargo plane, and another drone was reportedly found weeks later near the airport, also with traces of an explosive substance.The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods, including by the German military and Nato allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said Germany had increasingly 'found itself in the crosshairs of hybrid attackers'.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by accusing Germany of planting evidence to blame Moscow for the attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport.