Russia suspected of targeting German Greens through car sabotage

Hundreds of cars across several German states appear to have been deliberately sabotaged — their exhaust pipes filled with construction foam and stickers featuring the Greens’ chancellor candidate alongside the slogan “Be greener”.

This was not a campaign gimmick gone wrong, however. German authorities suspect Russia to be behind the attacks.

More than 270 vehicles in Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, and Bavaria are believed to have been targeted, seemingly to stoke anti-Green sentiment during the election campaign.

Initially, investigators suspected radical climate activists. However, Der Spiegel reports that in December last year, three men from southern Germany suddenly came under scrutiny.

They were stopped during a police check near a crime scene in Schönefeld, just outside Berlin. Subsequent house searches uncovered cans of construction foam, mobile phones and laptops.

Authorities suspect sabotage

Authorities believe these incidents are part of a targeted campaign to fuel resentment against the Greens and their chancellor candidate just weeks before the parliamentary election.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, has warned the public several times of potential Russian interference in the election, including the use of so-called Russian proxies.

“These individuals are recruited online by Russian intelligence services or other state actors to carry out sabotage or propaganda activities”, the agency stated.

The Greens have already responded to the allegations. In a statement, Konstantin von Notz, deputy parliamentary group leader and chairman of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Oversight Panel, underscored the severity of the current threat.

“For years, we have warned that authoritarian states, primarily Russia and China, are actively working to weaken Germany, manipulate public discourse, and attack democratic decision-making processes—including elections,” the statement reads.

“For months, espionage and sabotage have been used for sowing uncertainty, inflaming existing conflicts, and dividing our society. The warnings from our security agencies could hardly be clearer. What we are seeing is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Disposable” or “throwaway” agents are yet another tool in the arsenal of hybrid warfare. Instead of relying on professional, highly trained operatives, Russian intelligence services recruit individuals for one-off sabotage missions.

These recruits receive simple assignments via messaging apps like Telegram or Viber, requiring no specialised training — such as minor arson attacks or distributing propaganda stickers and flyers.

What’s the difference between traditional and hybrid warfare?

Olha Danchenkova, StratComm specialist and co-founder of Ukraine-born communications agency Calibrated told Euronews that hybrid warfare combines conventional military operations with a range of non-military tactics to achieve strategic objectives while maintaining plausible deniability.

“The goal is to exploit an adversary’s vulnerabilities across multiple domains, creating ambiguity. These tactics include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion (such as oil and gas dependency), diplomatic pressure, weaponisation of migration (see Belarus), corruption, election interference and the use of proxy forces”, Danchenkova, who is also the co-founder of PR Army NGO, added.

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Ihor Solovei, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, told Euronews that the arsenal of hybrid aggression includes a wide range of instruments, including disinformation.

Hybrid warfare is characterised by the fact that information operations, so-called false flag operations and the use of other non-military methods to influence the enemy play a major role in this type of aggression. Solovei explained the difference between hybrid and traditional warfare using an example from his home country.

“Here is an example. In 2022, Russia captured Mariupol using traditional warfare methods: artillery, armoured vehicles, aviation, and infantry. It was a classic military operation. Ten years earlier, in 2014, Russia captured Donetsk using hybrid methods of war”, he said.

“As a result of information operations and propaganda, part of the local residents turned against the central government.”

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“Russian special services and mercenaries, with the support of local collaborators, overthrew the legitimate authorities in the city by force. Unlike a full-scale invasion, in 2014 Russia concealed its role in the events by using proxy formations,” Solovei concluded.