GRU linked to attack on Munich defense firms

German security services have linked the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU, to an attempted attack on defense contractors in Munich. On the night of September 2–3, explosive devices were thrown from a moving vehicle onto a construction site adjacent to the headquarters of Rohde & Schwarz and the drone manufacturer Helsing.

Authorities arrested two Bulgarian citizens, a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, whom investigators describe as recruited “low-level agents.” The suspects are believed to be part of a GRU team operating out of Slovakia. The incident is viewed as part of a broader hybrid warfare strategy aimed at disrupting military supply lines to Ukraine and pressuring European nations.

The same GRU cell was reportedly involved in a thwarted arson attempt in August against a Skyeton factory near Prešov, Slovakia, which produces drones for Ukraine. This follows a failed sabotage attempt in Leipzig in August involving a drone rigged with explosives intended to target Ukrainian transport aircraft.