Russian saboteurs set fire to a Berlin factory to cut off arms deliveries to Ukraine. The only problem: the factory produced car parts.

• A massive fire at a Berlin factory last month was started by Russian saboteurs, according to the WSJ.

• They were targeting the flow of weapons to Ukraine, the media reports.

• But the factory, owned by Diehl Metal, makes parts for cars and electrical systems, not weapons.

In early May, dozens of German firefighters gathered at a metallurgical technology factory in southwest Berlin as it burned. Some 200 firefighters were deployed to fight the fire on Friday morning, fearing that the flames could interact with chemicals present in the factory.

It was a major event for the Lichterfelde district, with residents told to close their windows and stay indoors as the roof belched a steady column of black smoke. At least four floors of the building eventually burned down.

A month later, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Diehl Metal plant fire was an attempted arson carried out under Russian auspices.

Citing unnamed security officials, the outlet reported Sunday that a NATO intelligence agency had intercepted communications showing Russian involvement and passed them on to German authorities.

The German newspaper Bild also reported on the intercepted messages.

The newspaper reports that Russia intends to strike at arms deliveries to Ukraine. Diehl Metal's parent company also manufactures the IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems supplied to kyiv.

But the Diehl Group's arms manufacturer, Diehl Defense, only has a representative office in Berlin, and its major factories and facilities are spread across southern Germany.

Meanwhile, the Diehl Metal plant that burned makes parts “primarily for the automotive and electrical industries,” according to its website.

The Journal, citing unnamed security officials, reported that Germany had not blamed Russia for the fire because intercepted messages are not admissible in German courts.

However, the fire at the Diehl Metal plant has added fuel to the concerns of Ukraine's European allies about Russian sabotage attempts on civilian infrastructure and military installations.

Suspected targets in recent months include a warehouse in the United Kingdom that was set on fire and U.S. military bases in Germany.

According to the Financial Times, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said the series of incidents and attempts was “testing our response” and that NATO was still determining how best to act.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on May 31 that the alliance was closely monitoring the sabotage attempts.

“I can tell you that at today's foreign ministers' meeting, virtually all allies were seized of this intensification of Russia's hybrid attacks,” he told a conference. press office in Prague. “We know what they are planning and we will respond individually and collectively if necessary. »

Diehl and the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider outside of normal business hours.

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