Officials said that several improvised explosive devices had been found and that the number was still rising. Several explosive devices were found at a power plant near Germany’s border with Poland in what local officials said was an attempt to “sabotage” the power grid. Jan Redmann, interior minister for the eastern Brandenburg state, said authorities were searching the site and the number of devices found, currently “in the double digits,” was still rising. The announcement came on the same day as Germany announced that it held Russia directly responsible for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport in early August. The explosives were discovered at a substation next to Jänschwalde power station, located less than eight kilometers (five miles) from the Polish border. A spokesperson for Brandenburg police told TVP World said that “several improvised explosive devices (IEDs)” were found at the substation in the coal-fired facility following the detection of potential power line damage around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. It added that some of them “had not been detonated.” The substation a critical high-voltage node, connecting Jänschwalde, the region’s largest power plant, to the transmission grid. Police said that bomb disposal experts were dispatched to the site and that evidence was being secured. Officials, however, added that there were no injuries and there is no immediate danger to the public. Brief power cut Grid operator 50Hertz said "as yet unidentified perpetrators are believed to have caused damage to several power lines in 50Hertz's transmission grid". There was a brief power cut, but all power lines are now back in operation and the general electricity supply was never affected, the operator added in an emailed statement. Brandenburg premier Dietmar Woidke condemned the alleged attack. “We take attacks on our critical infrastructure very seriously. The alarmingly high frequency of such incidents shows that we must resolutely protect our infrastructure,” he said. Hybrid attacks Germany and the wider region has been on high alert in recent weeks due to what officials have called a growing threat from cyber and hybrid attacks. Later on Tuesday, Berlin directly blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport last month. Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s interior minister said the August 4 incident followed the "well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe.” Russia has previously dismissed accusations about its possible involvement in the incident as a "fabricated provocation" and as "a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany". This article includes reporting from Reuters. Additional reporting by Maria Kamińska.
