German prosecutors in Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, launched an investigation into unidentified drones flying over an industrial area containing a decommissioned nuclear power plant.
This incident follows a series of reported attempted sabotage on infrastructure and military sites in Germany in recent months.
According to Bild, drones were spotted since at least 8 August flying at high speeds over an area that includes the shut-down nuclear plant, a liquefied natural gas terminal, and chemical factories.
One drone, traveling over 100 kilometers per hour, was observed late on 20 August above the nuclear power plant. Bild reports that an internal police reported that “the no-fly zone was violated several times.”
The most recent drone incident occurred on 22 August, prompting Schleswig-Holstein police to put some officers on high alert.
Intelligence services preliminarily suspect that Russian agents may be launching the drones from ships in the North Sea for sabotage purposes. The drones are considered Orlan-10 models with a range of 500-600 kilometers and speeds exceeding 100 km/h.
Flensburg’s senior prosecutor, Bernd Winterfeld, confirmed to Bild that a preliminary investigation is underway allegedly on suspicion of agent activity for sabotage in connection with repeated drone flights over critical infrastructure in Schleswig-Holstein.
Unknown drones were observed monitoring Ukrainian soldiers during training in Germany. Two German-Russian citizens were arrested earlier this year on suspicion of planning sabotage at a US base in Bavaria.
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