Germany probes arson near defence firm as sabotage fears grow

German authorities are investigating a suspected arson attack at a construction site outside the Munich headquarters of defence contractor Rohde & Schwarz, a company known for making radar and drone-jamming systems. The fire, which broke out overnight, was extinguished without causing significant damage or injuries.

Police in Bavaria said two Bulgarian nationals — a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man — were arrested at a nearby petrol station in connection with the incident. Rohde & Schwarz confirmed a police and fire brigade operation near its premises but did not provide further details.

The episode comes as Germany remains on high alert over threats to critical infrastructure. Within the past week, authorities investigated two separate attempts to sabotage the electricity grid in the states of Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, occurring within 24 hours of each other.

These incidents follow Berlin's formal accusation that Russia was behind an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August. Moscow has denied any involvement and, in a retaliatory move, announced the closure of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural centres in Russia.

German officials have not ruled out either foreign involvement or domestic left-wing extremists as possible culprits behind the power-grid incidents. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has cautioned that foreign powers could use extremist groups as proxies for sabotage operations.

On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met his French and Polish counterparts in Weimar to discuss security. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw had summoned the Russian ambassador to express strong condemnation of what he called "Russian state terrorism" following the attempted attacks in Germany. He added that Poland supports the German government's response to aggressive actions on its territory.