UkraineThe Kyiv Independent Live in London: October 2United Kingdom

Days until event:

06days
05hours
06minutes
00seconds
Get your ticket
Europe

Germany links arson attack near Ukraine-supplying drone maker Helsing to Russia's GRU

• 2 min read
Germany links arson attack near Ukraine-supplying drone maker Helsing to Russia's GRU
Photo for illustrative purposes. A CA-1 Europa autonomous uncrewed combat vehicle by Helsing GmbH at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Berlin Germany, on June 10, 2026. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

German investigators suspect that Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) was behind an arson attack near the Munich offices of defense companies Rohde & Schwarz and Helsing, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Sept. 25, citing undisclosed security officials.

The arson attack took place in Munich on Sept. 3, when several incendiary devices were thrown from a passing car onto a construction site near the headquarters of Rohde & Schwarz and Helsing.

No one was injured in the incident. The damage was minor, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Rohde & Schwarz operates in secure communications and defense technology. Helsing develops AI and unmanned systems and produces drones used by Ukraine on the battlefield.

Police later detained two Bulgarian citizens — a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man — who may have been low-level operatives recruited by Russian intelligence services to carry out acts of sabotage in exchange for payment, according to the investigation.

German law enforcement authorities linked the arson attack to the GRU, making it the second similar incident in a month involving suspected Russian intelligence activity. The GRU is also suspected of preparing an attack on Leipzig Airport in early August.

The incident comes amid a rise in suspected acts of sabotage across Europe that Western officials have linked to Russia.

Denmark said in early September that Moscow was attempting to recruit Danish citizens to assist with sabotage operations targeting Danish defense companies.

Meanwhile, in late August, Slovak police detained three foreign nationals over an alleged plot to set fire to a Ukrainian-owned Skyeton factory that produces advanced surveillance drones.

Avatar
Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Read more
News Feed
 (Updated:  )

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said the strike on the oil refinery, located approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) from where the Ukrainian drones were launched, was carried out by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the 414th Separate Brigade, known as "Madyar's Birds," along with other Ukrainian military units.

Video

The Kyiv Independent’s Tania Myronyshena examines why Russia’s manpower advantage is under pressure, what a new mobilization campaign could look like, whether Russians could resist it, and how hundreds of thousands of additional troops could affect the war.

Show More