Russian operatives were allegedly behind an arson attack on a German factory last month, according to western intelligence officials who say that the attack is part of Russia’s campaign to sabotage Ukraine’s war effort.
The Wall Street Journal reported that officials initially believed that that the fire at a Diehl Metal Applications factory was an accident.
They now believe that the fire was intentionally set by “Russian saboteurs trying disrupt shipments of critical arms and ammunition to Ukraine,” the report said.
The fire happened in an area of the factory where “only a few people had access,” the report said. All CCTV footage was allegedly destroyed in the fire.
An intelligence agency of a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intercepted electronic-communications that “provided evidence of Russia’s involvement,” but the evidence was not allowed in Germany’s court system thus preventing criminal charges from being filed and blame being placed on Russia.
European countries have tried to avoid escalating tensions with Russia amid its war in Ukraine but not placing blame on it for various mysterious incidents that have occurred on civilian and military infrastructure on the continent, the report said. Privately, however, they believe that Russia is responsible for at least some of the incidents.
The goal of Russia’s sabotage campaign is to cause division in country’s that support Ukraine. Russian nationals have been arrested for trying to attack U.S. military facilities in Germany and for carrying out attacks in the U.K.
Suspected cases of Russian sabotage include destroying an undersea gas pipelines and data cables in the Arctic and the Baltic Sea regions by civilian ships tied to Russia, the report said.
The report said that Russia is recruiting criminals on social media to carry out the attacks, some of whom may not be aware that they are being recruited by Russia and may believe that they are working for someone else. They are often paid in cryptocurrency.
