Police Suspect Sabotage at Third German Substation

Police defuse a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport, the Daily Mail reports. Another drone is reportedly found near the airport weeks later, also with traces of an explosive substance.

The first of this week's incidents: homemade projectiles resembling New Year's Eve fireworks, capable of shorting out high-voltage lines by shooting a grounding wire over them, are found near the Jänschwalde coal power plant in Brandenburg, per DW. The Daily Mail reported devices carrying conductive material damaged power lines at one of the country's most critical high-voltage nodes.

Berlin, which had previously spoken only of possible involvement by "foreign powers," says Moscow was responsible for last month's drone attack, according to the Daily Mail.

Similar objects are found near a power station in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia. The Daily Mail reported the Bergheim case prompted five brown-coal power plant units with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts to temporarily go off-grid.

A passer-by discovers the device at the Dormagen substation. Police treat it as a likely sabotage attempt. The Bild tabloid reported that homemade rockets with launching devices, timers and copper wires were found; police have not confirmed that account.

A police patrol spots an open cabinet at a substation in Ganderkesee, near Bremen in Lower Saxony. Officers search the site with a helicopter called in to light the area from above. No damage and no unauthorized persons are found. "At no time was there any danger to the public," a police spokesman said.

Police near Aachen search an area by the Weisweiler power plant after receiving a letter from a man claiming responsibility for attempted sabotage elsewhere in Germany this week and naming Weisweiler as a potential target, DW reported.