According to a high-ranking Berlin MP, Germany is investigating possible Russian acts of sabotage at two military bases where there were apparently attempts to contaminate drinking water.

The two facilities allegedly attacked are a German army base in Cologne-Wahn and a NATO airfield in nearby Geilenkirchen. Ulrich Fonrobert, a spokesman for the German army, said a hole was cut in the fence surrounding the Cologne base during the night, but the person or persons responsible have not yet been identified.

A warning system showed “abnormal values” in water quality, indicating that the water system was under targeted attack, Fonrobert told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

As the magazine Der Spiegel reported, soldiers and civilians at the Bundeswehr base were advised not to drink the tap water because they feared that the water could be “contaminated.”

Donny Demmers, NATO spokesman in Geilenkirchen, said a suspect tried to gain access to the facility on Tuesday evening, but security forces thwarted the attempt.

“Knowing what happened in Cologne, we have checked our water supply systems. There was no intrusion,” he added.

At the Cologne site, a hub for the aircraft of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet, “the suspicion of sabotage is growing,” said Marcus Faber, chairman of the Defense Committee in the Berlin Bundestag.

“Further investigations will show whether my initial suspicion that Russia is behind it is confirmed,” Faber said, adding that committee members would be continuously informed about the status of the investigation.

A Russian government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

09:43

Two years after the war in Ukraine: diseases, displacement and cries for help

Two years after the war in Ukraine: diseases, displacement and cries for help

Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the Bundestag investigative committee that oversees German intelligence services, reiterated his warning of an intensified hybrid war that Russia could wage after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

After the USA, Germany is the second largest military and financial supporter of the government in Kiev.

The base in Cologne is also an important hub for military support for Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers regularly fly home from there via Poland after their training in Germany, Der Spiegel continues.

“Cyber ​​attacks occur almost every day,” von Notz was quoted as saying by the RND media group on Wednesday.

“There are very broad disinformation campaigns promoting anti-democratic parties and individuals in Germany, Europe and the USA and aiming to divide our society, as well as espionage and sabotage,” he said.

In April, investigators arrested two German-Russians. They are accused of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany – including on US military facilities – in order to undermine military support for Ukraine.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse