Suspected sabotage almost caused a German plane to crash, says intelligence chief

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Germany narrowly avoided a plane crash earlier this year after a parcel intended for the plane’s cargo hold burst into flames before the flight in suspected sabotage, one of the country’s intelligence chiefs said, warning of a dramatic increase in “aggressive behavior.” by Russian agents.

Thomas Haldenwang, the head of Germany’s national intelligence service, said it was only a lucky coincidence that the package caught fire on the ground at the DHL logistics center in Leipzig and not in the air. He did not say whether it was a passenger or cargo plane.

Haldenwang told a parliamentary committee of the German Bundestag that if the parcel caught fire during the flight, “it would cause a disaster.”

Although he did not name the suspected perpetrators, the German news agency DPA reported that security services assumed the attack had links to Russia. It was unclear who the package was sent to.

Appearing before members of parliament, Haldenwang and other German spy chiefs issued the latest Western warning that the Kremlin has significantly intensified its destabilization efforts and attempted acts of espionage and sabotage have increased “both quantitatively and qualitatively” in Germany.

“We are observing aggressive behavior of Russian intelligence services,” he said, adding that Moscow was “risking people’s lives.” He warned: “This affects all areas of our free society.”

Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, said the Kremlin’s willingness to take covert action had reached a “previously unknown level.”

Putin will likely “test the West’s red lines,” he added, saying there was a high risk of further escalation of the conflict between NATO and Russia after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Martina Rosenberg, head of Germany’s military counterintelligence, said she was concerned about attempts by foreign intelligence services to spy on the country’s armed forces.

Rosenberg said efforts were being made to obtain information about German weapons supplies to Ukraine, as well as about training projects. Germany is one of the largest international arms suppliers to Kiev and is also home to a number of camps where Ukrainian soldiers learn to use Western military equipment. She added that Moscow also wants to “create a sense of insecurity through acts of sabotage.”

The reports by German spy chiefs follow similar warnings from other Western intelligence agencies about the activities of Russia and other hostile states on European territory.

The head of Britain’s MI5, Ken McCallum, said last week that Russia was on a “mission to create chaos” on British streets and that Iran was fomenting deadly plots at an “unprecedented pace and scale.”

Western officials have raised the alarm over a series of suspected Russian sabotage attempts this year. In March, a London warehouse owned by a company with ties to Ukraine caught fire in an arson attack. In May, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Moscow of causing a fire in a shopping mall in Warsaw.

Germany has also been the target of a series of suspected attacks or attempted attacks. In April, two suspected Russian agents were arrested in connection with alleged plans to arson and bomb attacks on military targets and weapons factories.

In August, a military base in western Germany was closed for several hours after a suspected attempt to contaminate drinking water supplies.

One of the most serious incidents was the alleged plot to assassinate Armin Papperger, CEO of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, whose company supplied artillery shells and military vehicles to Ukraine. The conspiracy was discovered by American intelligence.