Germany Records 165 Suspected Sabotage Cases This Year

German authorities recorded more than 165 suspected sabotage cases and 747 suspicious drone incidents nationwide in the first eight months of 2026, according to a confidential police assessment revealed on Thursday, Sept. 3.Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) compiled the report, obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR, according to their joint investigation.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The figures cover cases registered through the end of August and include suspected politically motivated or state-directed attacks, as well as surveillance incidents not involving drones.The assessment was prepared through Germany’s joint hybrid threat response center, known as GAZ-Hybrid, which opened in Berlin in mid-June.Espionage investigations riseGermany’s federal prosecutor and specialized state prosecutors have opened 24 espionage investigations this year, including 12 involving suspected cyberespionage, the report said.Authorities are conducting preliminary assessments in another 40 cases.Federal and state police recorded 112 espionage-related crimes since January. More than 60 involved what the BKA described as “security-endangering imaging,” including the unauthorized photographing or filming of military facilities and defense equipment.Another 26 cases involved suspected activity by agents preparing acts of sabotage.Brandenburg recorded the highest number of espionage-related offenses, with 23. North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein registered 21 each, while Lower Saxony recorded 15. Other Topics of Interest Ukrainian Drones Hit Sochi Oil Depot, Air Defense Systems as Moscow Faces Third Night of Flight Disruptions The latest strikes occurred several dozen kilometers from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea residence, Bocharov Ruchey. More than 1,000 drones spotted over sensitive sitesThe BKA registered 747 suspicious drone incidents from January through August, involving 1,068 drones observed above critical infrastructure, military facilities, and defense companies.By comparison, authorities recorded around 1,300 drone incidents during all of 2025.Investigators have rarely identified the pilots, and many cases were ultimately found to have no connection to espionage.In July, however, authorities arrested a Moldovan citizen in Bavaria for allegedly using a drone to survey German defense manufacturer KNDS. Investigators suspect he may have acted on behalf of Russian state agencies.Power grid attacks investigated as sabotageThe report emerged as German prosecutors investigated attacks on two electrical substations.On Tuesday, Sept. 1, homemade projectiles resembling oversized fireworks were launched from tubes near a substation in Jänschwalde, Brandenburg. Metal hooks and copper wires attached to the devices fell across high-voltage lines, causing a short circuit.A similar attack occurred in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Wednesday. Investigators consider a connection between the incidents likely, but the perpetrators remain unidentified.Prosecutors are investigating the attacks as possible terrorism or anti-constitutional sabotage.The report also described an Aug. 9 incident at a natural gas processing facility in Großenkneten, Lower Saxony. After drones were spotted above the site, a security guard searching for their pilots encountered two people dressed in dark clothing.The suspects “then slammed the guard’s head onto the hood of the car,” according to a police report cited by the outlets. They wore balaclavas and gloves and escaped before officers arrived.The confidential assessment does not collectively attribute the 165 suspected cases to Russia. German authorities have separately accused Moscow of directing a failed explosive-drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August, describing it as part of a broader hybrid campaign against Germany. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.