Russia started Berlin factory fire in hybrid war against Europe, report says – POLITICO

“It has long been clear that Russia is waging a hybrid war against European countries, including Germany,” he added.

German police said the investigation was still ongoing and “at this stage a technical fault is believed to be the cause of the fire.”

Thomas Hör, CEO of Diehl Metal Applications, told Berlin television station RBB last week that a fire insurance company had come to the same conclusion.

But according to the WSJ, experienced professionals are behind the fire. Russia is increasingly recruiting civilians, mainly criminals, via Telegram to carry out such attacks, a security official said. These people are paid in cryptocurrency and some may not even know they are working for Russia, the report said.

“It's like the gig economy for sabotage and terrorism: Perpetrators are recruited like Uber drivers, but the effect is often the same as hiring professionals,” the WSJ said. citing an unnamed senior Western security official.

German tabloid Bild reported last week that a foreign intelligence service had informed German secret services of concrete indications that Russia was involved in the factory fire.

But intercepted communications that provided evidence of Russian involvement were inadmissible in German courts, two German officials told the WSJ, preventing authorities from clearly attributing the attack and prosecuting criminal proceedings.

The fire broke out in early May and caused tens of millions of euros in damage, according to the company. More than 200 firefighters were on site for several days to put out the fire, but a technical room on the second floor of a factory burned to the ground, RBB reported.