German prosecutors open probe into drone flights over critical infrastructure

German prosecutors open probe into drone flights over critical infrastructure

German prosecutors have opened an investigation into repeated drone flights over critical infrastructure in northern Germany on suspicion of espionage activity, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

The Flensburg public prosecutor's office has initiated a preliminary investigation on suspicion of "agent activity for sabotage purposes in connection with repeated drone flights," according to senior public prosecutor Bernd Winterfeldt.

Winterfeldt said that he could not give further details on the investigation due to matters of state security.

The Bild newspaper, which first reported the investigation, cited an internal police report that said a no-fly zone over a nuclear power plant had been violated several times this month.

According to Bild, authorities with the Schleswig-Holstein state criminal police agency assume that the so-far unidentified drones are Russian Orlan-10s, which have a range of 500 to 600 kilometres and can fly over 100 kilometres an hour.

A state criminal police agency spokesperson declined to comment on the report and referred questions to prosecutors.

Germany, one of Ukraine's biggest suppliers of military aid since Russia's invasion in 2022, has been on increased alert over sabotage activity, recently sealing off a military base on suspicions of contaminated tap water that turned out false.

In April, two German-Russian nationals were arrested on suspicion of plotting sabotage attacks, in what officials called a serious effort to undermine military support for Ukraine.