Two Bulgarians were suspected and detained yesterday for the alleged attempted attack in Munich. According to ARD, there are serious indications that the perpetrators may be "disposable agents". What is known?
On the night of Thursday, September 3, in Munich, a witness saw incendiary devices being thrown from a passing car at the construction site of a defense company and notified the police. She quickly arrived at the scene, and shortly afterwards the two suspects in the alleged attempted attack - a 38-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, both Bulgarian citizens - were detained at a gas station. They have been in custody ever since.
Meanwhile, the German tabloid newspaper "Bild" reported that as part of the investigation into the case on Thursday morning, special forces stormed the home of a third Bulgarian in Unterhaching. Shortly afterwards, however, investigators clarified that the 55-year-old man was not suspected of the alleged attempted attack. It is not known whether his interrogation has any connection to the two suspects.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to a Deutsche Welle inquiry about the two detained Bulgarians that they were monitoring the case. "The Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Munich is in direct contact with the competent German institutions, which confirmed the identities of the detained persons. According to the German authorities, the investigation is in its initial stage and the clarification of the facts and circumstances of the case continues. At the moment, the motives and the specific purpose of the incident, as well as the degree of involvement of the detained persons, are the subject of the investigation."
A hybrid attack by Russia?
According to information from the Berlin studio of the German public media ARD, the German security services have serious indications that this may again be a Russian hybrid attack, carried out by so-called "low-level agents" or "disposable agents".
These are people who are hired by front persons of the Russian special services - the so-called proxies, to carry out tasks for a fee. They may be hired to photograph specific sites, but they may also be ordered to carry out sabotage operations.
In their response to the State Duma, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry did not mention anything in connection with the suspicions of a Russian trace.
More and more sabotage after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
A few days ago, the federal government accused Russia of the attempted attack on Leipzig airport, which was probably aimed at Ukrainian Antonov transport planes. Berlin announced that it was also probably carried out by "low-level agents" or "one-time agents". Drones equipped with explosives were used in it. Since then, the country has been on high alert.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine and Germany began providing military support to the attacked country in its defense efforts, there has been a series of sabotage incidents, which are believed to be the work of Russian special services.
Are Germans afraid of Russia?
As part of the so-called Deutschlandtrend on ARD television (a sociological survey on various topics that excite Germans), participants were asked the following question this week: Does Russia pose a risk to Germany's security? "Yes", the majority answered in the representative survey conducted by Infratest dimap.
56 percent believe that Germany's security is very strongly or strongly threatened by Russia. For 39 percent, the threat is weak or non-existent. The proportion of those interviewed who believe that Russia poses no threat to Germany is particularly high among supporters of the "Alternative for Germany".
The Munich incident was not unexpected
The alleged attempted attack in Munich was apparently not completely unexpected for the police. According to information from the ARD, there is a connection in this case with the arrest of a 33-year-old Ukrainian citizen in Thuringia in early August by officers of the regional criminal service. As the Munich Chief Prosecutor's Office announced a few days later, the man is accused of taking photographs on the territory of a military-industrial complex in Bavaria in June and sending them to his client. It is believed that this was part of the preparation of a sabotage operation. It is possible that he had such an order.
A series of arrests for espionage and preparation of sabotage actions
ARD points out that defense industry companies are considered particularly at risk, especially if they are involved in military support for Ukraine. In March, Germany's chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of two people - a Romanian citizen in North Rhine-Westphalia and a 43-year-old Ukrainian in Spain, who has since been transferred to Germany. Both are accused of spying on the Bavarian drone manufacturer "Donaustal" and the private home of the company's manager.
In early July, it became known that two people were detained on the Hungarian-Serbian border, also suspected of being employed by Russian intelligence. They were allegedly traveling to Germany with explosives and a drone. In this case too, the security services are investigating the suspicion that the target may have been a German arms company in Bavaria.
Germany in 2026: 165 alleged acts of sabotage
The German media NDR, VDR and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" have access to a confidential report from the Federal Criminal Police Office, which shows that from January to the end of August 2026, the authorities have already registered over 165 cases of alleged sabotage in the country. These also include "espionage cases without the use of drones".
According to the report from the beginning of the year, the police have identified a total of 112 espionage-related crimes: in more than 60 cases, it is a question of so-called "security-threatening filming", for example, unauthorized photography of military facilities or weapons. In 26 other cases, espionage with the aim of sabotage is even suspected. The regions with the highest number of espionage cases are: Brandenburg with 23 crimes, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein with 21 crimes each, and Lower Saxony with 15 crimes.
The number of suspicious drone sightings also remains high. From January to the end of August, 747 cases were registered across the country: 1,068 drones were counted over critical infrastructure sites, military installations and weapons manufacturing plants.