The second highest level! Russian sabotage operation targets military aircraft, German military listed as "major threat" for the first time

The German military has confirmed that it has classified Russian sabotage as a major threat for the first time. Schematic diagram of the German army. (Reuters)

The German media "West German Broadcasting Corporation" (WDR) and "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" (Sueddeutsche Zeitung) exposed on the 21st that the Bundeswehr's assessment classified Russia's intelligence sabotage operations as a "major threat" to the military for the first time, belonging to the second highest level of the internal threat index.

According to two media reports, the assessment began in mid-September when a drone loaded with high explosives crashed near the Wunstorf air base in Lower Saxony. In this regard, the German Ministry of Defense confirmed that the assessment was true, in order to highlight the overall threat of major damage faced by the military.

Military documents pointed out that Moscow used armed drones to carry out dynamic and lethal actions against Germany and German forces, and its intention to cause harm exceeded the red line previously imagined. The drone used in the Weynstorf incident was similar to the device used in the attempted explosive drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August. The difference is that the target at Leipzig/Halle Airport was a civilian cargo aircraft, while the one targeted at Wennstorf was a military aircraft.

Martin Jaeger, the director of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), warned at the annual public hearing of intelligence chiefs in Congress at the beginning of this month that as Russia's "shadow war" against European democracy intensifies, Germany is at risk of a violent conflict with Moscow.