The Putin regime is intensifying its hybrid warfare against NATO and EU member states. The latest escalation: for several weeks, parcels sent by private individuals from various locations in Europe carried by integrators have caught fire during transportation. Western intelligence services suspect that the sabotage is a response by Moscow to the permission given by some NATO states to Ukraine to use Western weapons to shell military control centers and airfields on Russian territory in Kyiv’s fight for survival.
According to agency reports, DHL Express has already been affected twice by sabotage. The most serious incident happened last July when a parcel caught fire that was handed over to the integrator in a Baltic state, addressed to a customer in Europe and routed via Leipzig Airport. The consignment with the incendiary device ignited a cargo container, causing other shipments to burn. Thanks to rapid intervention of ground workers at Leipzig Airport, however, the flames were quickly extinguished.
The package delivery company confirmed that this was not the only case, since other incidents have happened before. Consequently, DHL took measures in all European countries aimed “to protect our own staff, operations and facilities,” a DHL spokesperson told the German Press Agency – dpa. Management is cooperating closely with the relevant authorities, is stressed in a statement.
Warning message
Alerted by increasing security incidents threatening the air freight and logistics industry, the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution sent a notice to transportation companies last Wednesday (28AUG24). In its letter it warns that further parcels with “unconventional incendiary devices” have been or will be dispatched. Sensitizing employees and precautionary measures are highly recommended steps in the advice. As things stand, it can be assumed that the “unconventional incendiary devices were sent deliberately to damage freight service companies and other logistics infrastructure in western countries,” remind the Constitution Protectors, stressing the urgency in their warning message.
All of the affected parcels detected so far contained electrical items and vials filled with liquids. The high shipping costs of the parcels were regularly “economically disproportionate to the value of the goods,” emphasizes the Office in its write. It is an open secret in security circles that Russian sabotage and espionage activities in Germany and across Western Europe have increased significantly in recent weeks and months, seen by the rapidly growing amount of drones spotted across critical and sensitive infrastructure such as airports or telecommunication facilities.
Proxy war
To carry out such espionage activities, the Russian secret service recruits individuals belonging to shadow armies consisting of right wingers or radicals from the extreme left all across Europe. Consequently, military experts are already talking about a Russia-NATO proxy war. In case a perpetrator is identified, the Putin regime can claim to have nothing to do with the occurrence.
Despite Moscow’s obscuration tactics, security circles hold that Russia is becoming increasingly ruthless in its drone campaign targeting military bases or critical infrastructure in Germany and other EU states. Mainly affected are those sites, where Ukrainian military personnel are being trained. Alarmed by warnings of sabotage, Lufthansa Cargo is also increasing its vigilance. However, there have been no incidents involving incendiary devices in its own operations to date, a spokeswoman told the media. “We are generally aware of the current developments. We are in close contact with the authorities.” The transportation of air freight is subject to strict safety regulations, she stressed. The same applies to DHL, FedEx or UPS.
