German warships have repeatedly fallen victim to sabotage since the onset of the war in Ukraine, according to Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaak, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy. He revealed that multiple ships have sustained damage and that there have been instances of unauthorized access to naval bases from both land and sea.
“In our assessment, we are being tested. There is an effort to undermine public confidence—both nationally and within NATO—while also laying the groundwork for potential future military action,” Kaak stated, as cited by The Moscow Times.
He assured that the German Navy is implementing countermeasures to address the threat.
German Warships Targeted
Kaak also stated that the threat posed by Russia in early 2025 is more severe than it was two years ago.
“Experts and intelligence agencies agree that Russia could initiate a conflict with NATO as early as 2029,” he warned, calling for strategic preparations at the highest levels.
His statement follows an alarming discovery at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where workers found tens of kilograms of metal shavings inside the engine of the new German Navy corvette Emden, just before its maiden launch.
According to reports from Süddeutsche Zeitung, WDR, and NDR, experts believe the shavings could have caused significant engine damage, potentially delaying the ship’s deployment. While journalists suggest possible sabotage, the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Police Office have declined to comment, and Kaak has not directly confirmed whether the incident was intentional.
Russia’s Widespread Sabotage Campaign in Europe
The European Union has previously reported that, since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has engaged in widespread acts of sabotage against European nations, with Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the UK among the primary targets.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stated that Russia may be linked to at least 100 suspicious incidents across Europe in 2024.
Meanwhile, Bruno Kahl, head of the German Federal Intelligence Service, warned that Russian-backed sabotage could prompt NATO to invoke Article 5—the alliance’s collective defense clause. He also acknowledged that a direct military confrontation with NATO is becoming one of the possible scenarios for the Kremlin.
