Germany discovers arms cache near Berlin with suspected Russian links

German security authorities have discovered a secret arms cache in a wooded area near Berlin. The discovery, which reportedly occurred late last summer, included short weapons such as pistols and revolvers.

Investigators suspect the weapons were intended for agents tasked with carrying out ‘kinetic operations’—physical attacks or potential assassinations—on behalf of Moscow. Targets may have included defense industry executives or Russian dissidents living in exile.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution received specific intelligence regarding the location. Since November, the federal prosecutor's office has been investigating the matter under charges of preparing a serious act of violence against the state. One suspect was reportedly arrested in Romania last autumn for allegedly arranging the cache.