German army warns of further potential attacks on infrastructure

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In light of the recent "cable sabotage" which caused the German railway to break down on Saturday, a high-ranking general in the army, Maj. Gen. Carsten Breuer, said on Sunday that Germany may experience further attacks on its vital infrastructure in the days ahead.

Some of the critical infrastructures which Breuer warned could be potential targets include power plants and energy infrastructures. 

"Every transfer station, every power plant, every pipeline can be attacked, can be a possible target. We are particularly concerned about hybrid threats here. This is the state between no longer having real peace, nor is their real war yet," Breuer told the German daily Bild on Sunday.

Breuer, who leads the Territorial Operations Command, said the conflict in Ukraine accounts for the possibility of further threats to occur.

"Russia’s war has brought our focus back to national and collective defense. It has become clear to the whole country: War in Europe is possible again. This has consequences for every citizen," he stressed, adding that foreign attacks and domestic disruptions could increase in the coming days.

"This is not about an enemy army with soldiers and tanks that attack our country, but it’s about interferences, with attacks on infrastructure and cyberattacks, or, for example, reconnaissance flights with drones over military barracks," Breuer said.

"In other words, pinpricks to fuel insecurity within the population and shake confidence in our state. Security authorities will have to adapt themselves to this threat situation," he added.

While calling on Germans to remain calm in the face of potential attacks, he recommended citizens be prepared for power blackouts and be equipped with flashlights, radios, and enough batteries at home.

Read more: German foreign intelligence has been providing data to Ukraine

The recent acts of sabotage on the Deutsche Bahn come just over two weeks after sabotage attacks on Russia-Germany gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2.

Following the incident, the German newspaper Tagesspiegel claimed that Berlin is convinced that the loss of pressure in the three natural gas pipelines between Russia and Germany was not a coincidence and suspects a "targeted attack".

The German newspaper quoted an informed source as saying that the German government and agencies investigating the incident "can’t imagine a scenario that isn't a targeted attack."

"Everything speaks against a coincidence," the source said.

Prior to the incident, it was reported on October 6 that Flightradar24 data showed earlier this month a US Navy Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter spent hours loitering over the location of the damaged natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Bornholm for several days in a row, September 1, 2, and 3 in particular.

Despite this valuable piece of information, Moscow was excluded from the investigations.

In the same context, Moscow recently suffered from a terrorist attack on its Kersh Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea. 

As soon as the bridge exploded, the perpetrators were quickly identified when a political advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted that this was only "the beginning".

Russia’s State Duma recognized this was the result of a terrorist attack perpetrated by the Ukrainian Armed forces. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on October 8 to enhance security measures for the Crimea bridge, the energy bridge, and the gas pipeline connecting the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia.

So far, the Lugansk People's Republic's law enforcement agencies have already apprehended a "reconnaissance and sabotage group" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces plotting "terrorist attacks" in the region's frontlines earlier today, as reports indicate.

Read more: Macron urges coordinated action to ensure gas infrastructure security