Dozens of explosives found near German power grid after mystery fire & ‘rocket’ attack in spiralling sabotage campaign

DOZENS of explosives and homemade bombs have been discovered near German power grids in the latest suspected sabotage attempts. Fires have broken out with mystery blasts being heard across European energy facilities in recent days – as authorities probe the spiralling campaign of what is feared to be Russian shadow warfare. A fire broke out at a substation in Berlin this morning Credit: Getty The blaze is the latest in a wave of suspected shadow warfare attacks orchestrated by Russia, officials fear Credit: Getty At least 21 explosive devices have been uncovered across the Nato nation as part of Berlin’s probe so far. This includes nine homemade bombs which were found over the weekend near high voltage power lines in Goerlitz. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Earlier today, an inferno broke out at a construction site in Berlin’s Mitte district before spreading to an energy substation. Hours earlier, cops found “irregularities” at the Niederrhein substation, including a hole cut in one of its security fences, reports say. Police are looking for left-wing activist Daniel V who claimed responsibility for the alleged attacks Credit: AFP Police pictured searching for Daniel V on Sunday Credit: AP Fears are mounting that Moscow could be behind several of these alleged explosive schemes – especially due to the Leipzig drone plot which has been directly linked to Russia. Putin was accused of orchestrating the plan on August 4 which saw a bomb-rigged drone found near a fleet of jets and another UAV striking a plane mid-air. Germany is even planning to create a protective shield to prevent attacks like the failed assault on Leipzig. It could include vehicles and helicopters with specialists ready to defuse and intercept explosive devices, authorities say. Most read in The Sun Putin was accused of orchestrating the Leipzig drone plot Credit: EPA A bomb-laden drone was found in Leipzig Airport last month Credit: Reuters Authorities haven’t confirmed if Putin was behind the botched power grid attacks or not – and one left-wing activist has claimed to be behind some of them. Daniel V, 48, reportedly admitted to several of the bomb ordeals in a letter. Cops found what appeared to be explosives at his home after a raid but he is still at large. A helicopter was scrambled between Remscheid-Lüttringhausen and Wuppertal-Ronsdorf on Monday morning. Police and reporters in the Brandenburg area after a suspected sabotage attack on September 1 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Cops search a field near a power plant after a sabotage attempt on Germany’s electricity grid in Bergheim Credit: Reuters And a 60-strong team of officers is investigating the letters in which he claimed responsibility for the schemes. It comes after a worrying wave of suspected sabotage attacks last week. On Tuesday morning, multiple explosives fitted to what appeared to be fireworks were found at a substation near the Jaenschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg. Separately on the same day, a short circuit caused several power lines to go out of service at the Bergheim power substation near Cologne. Both cases are being treated as deliberate attacks, local police said, and the probe came just one day after Berlin pointed the finger at Moscow for the botched Leipzig attack. On Thursday, police also discovered a number of homemade rocket launchers at a substation in Dormagen. The plots were uncovered amid concerns Europe is losing the growing “hybrid” war with Russia. Nato allies have been warned they must come up with new methods to prevent the attacks, defence sources told the Financial Times. One official said: “‘It is completely clear that we aren’t doing enough to deter sub-Article 5 provocations. “We are providing enough deterrence to prevent Russian conventional and nuclear escalation… but we really need to rethink our approach to hybrid.” The letter confessing to the plots allegedly written by Daniel V reportedly said his motivation was to protest Germany‘s growing reliance on fossil fuels. The letter bizarrely contained both his name and address. When officers stormed Daniel V’s home in Gevelsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Friday, he was not there. His lorry was found close by and about 100 cops searched a nearby forest with drones and search dogs. Police released photographs of Daniel V on Saturday, as part of a public appeal for information. Comment now