Authorities sealed off a German military base for several hours Wednesday to investigate suspected sabotage, while a separate attempted trespassing incident occurred at a NATO airbase in the country, officials reported.
There was evidence of “an attempted or completed illegal intrusion” at the Cologne-Wahn airbase, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. “There is also a suspicion of sabotage.”
A spokesman for the German Air Force separately confirmed earlier reports that a hole was discovered in a fence, leading to the suspicion of a break-in on the base. He also said that there were abnormal water levels on the base.
However, he could not confirm reports that there had been cases of illness.
A source told dpa that water samples have been taken for the investigation.
The alarm was raised about the water on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The military police, the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), and the State Security Service, which deal with politically motivated crime, are among the authorities involved in the investigation.
No one was allowed to leave or enter the barracks on Wednesday, although the lockdown was lifted later Wednesday.
The barracks are home to several departments, including the German Air Force office responsible for traveling Cabinet members and senior government officials.
The base is also an important hub for military support for Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers regularly fly home from there, via Poland, after receiving training in Germany.
Security stepped up
A NATO base in the western German town of Geilenkirchen faced an attempted trespassing incident late Tuesday, the military alliance said in a statement.
An individual attempted to enter the base but was stopped and sent away, a spokesman said, adding that a “routine” sweep of the site and people there was conducted afterward. Police are investigating the incident.
Following the lockdown at the Cologne-Wahn base, the NATO site also increased its security level and conducted routine checks of its water supply but added it had no concerns with the safety of its supply.
The base was not sealed off and continued operating at full capacity, the spokesman said.
The airbase is home to NATO AWACS reconnaissance aircraft.
Marcus Faber, a German lawmaker from the liberal FDP party and chairman of parliament’s defense committee told Bild daily that with the two incidents coming so close together “one can assume that an enemy actor wants to demonstrate his sabotage skills.”
Germany – a key ally of Kyiv – has been on high alert for sabotage and attacks on military facilities in the country in the wake of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In April, investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany – including on U.S. army facilities – to undermine military support for Ukraine.
