Improvised explosives discovered near two German high-voltage substations

On September 5, regional police announced the discovery of twelve improvised explosive devices near high-voltage lines at two electricity substations in eastern Germany: Baerwalde, close to Bautzen, and Graustein, near Görlitz. The finds came after a citizen reported suspicious activity, prompting bomb disposal units to render the devices harmless and temporarily deactivate the nearby power infrastructure. Investigators are examining a possible connection to a series of recent attacks on substations that appeared aimed at disrupting coal-fired power generation.

German media have identified a 48-year-old man, referred to as Daniel V, who sent letters claiming responsibility and whose apartment yielded suspected explosives. Earlier, a heavily armed police team had intercepted a truck in the Hambach Forest, a symbolic site for climate activists, though the suspect evaded capture. The recent incidents add to a pattern of far-left activism targeting the power grid, including a major blackout in Berlin earlier this year.