At least six German military trucks were destroyed in a suspected arson attack at a Bundeswehr facility in Erfurt, Germany, in what appears to be a Russian sabotage operation on NATO soil, revealed by a pro-Russian Telegram channel, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on June 26.
The footage shared by the channel shows multiple Rheinmetall MAN military trucks engulfed in flames. The authors claimed that the vehicles belonged to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and were supposedly sent to Erfurt for repairs—a claim easily disproven by the visible Bundeswehr markings and German license plates on the trucks.
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The trucks should have been secured within a military zone, meaning the attack not only caused significant material damage but also likely involved an unauthorized breach of a German military installation—a serious security violation that points to foreign intelligence involvement.
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The pro-Russian channel claimed the operation was carried out by “our people” and celebrated the destruction of equipment allegedly bound for Ukraine. However, the reality indicates a direct attack on German property and military readiness.
Authorities in Germany have not yet commented publicly on the incident or confirmed the extent of the damage, but investigations are expected to focus on potential Russian intelligence operatives or proxy networks operating within Germany. The attack follows a broader pattern of Russian sabotage attempts across Europe, targeting railways, military depots, and arms factories that support Ukraine’s defense.
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https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/media/news-watch/news/2024/07/2024-07-01-record-order-over-6,500-trucks-for-3.5-bn-eur
Apparently Germany is ordering some quantity of additional trucks, so I expect that the destroyed ones won’t represent a huge dent.
It sounds like they’re something like 500k EUR each, so that’s something like 3 million EUR in damage.