- The mayor of Berlin described the damage to the infrastructure as an act of terrorism.
- The attack caused a power outage for thousands of customers.
- The federal police and security forces are conducting the investigation.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner on Monday called Saturday’s arson attack, which cut off electricity to tens of thousands of customers in the city, an act of terrorism. Electricity supplies have so far been restored to 14,000 of the 45,000 affected households and more than 2,200 commercial customers. TASR informs about it based on the reports of AFP and DPA agencies.
“It’s not just arson or sabotage. This is terrorism,” the conservative mayor told regional television RBB on Sunday night. Wegner emphasized that the left-wing extremist group attacked key infrastructure, putting the lives of elderly people or families with young children at risk. “We must catch these criminals immediately,” he declared. According to the mayor, the regional and federal police, as well as the German counterintelligence, are cooperating in the investigation.
Perpetrators and extent of damage
Early Saturday morning, the perpetrators started the fire on the link over the Teltow canal, which carries several high-voltage cables from the nearby Lichterfelde power plant.
According to the network operator, Stromnetz Berlin, the damage is extensive and repairs will take a long time. They expect the complete restoration of supplies by Thursday. The company explained that it was necessary to dig trenches and lay new cables. In addition, the work is made more difficult by the freezing weather.
Aid to affected areas
Support for residents in the affected districts of Nikolassee, Zehlendorf, Wannsee and Lichterfelde is being provided by emergency services, along with the army and charity groups. Several stayed temporarily in hotels, schools or sports halls.
The left-wing extremist group Vulkangruppe confessed to the crime on the Internet. In her manifesto, entitled “Cutting the rulers from power”, she said that their action is aimed against the “fossil fuel economy” that causes climate change.
Similar cases and suspicions
A similar attack took place in September, when a group of anarchists set electricity poles on fire. The blackout then affected tens of thousands of people in the southeast of Berlin.
Member of the Bundestag Roderich Kiesewetter suggested that Russia may be behind the act. According to him, the Vulkangruppe manifesto is written in broken German and the text would make much more sense in Russian. “Either far-left extremists don’t know how to speak German properly, or someone is telling them what to say,” he said, adding that the matter requires intensive analysis.
