Explosion Near Augsburg Train Station Injures Two
An explosion near the main train station in Augsburg, Germany, injured two people early Wednesday morning, according to police. The victims, a 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man, both Ukrainian citizens, sustained minor injuries from acoustic trauma, police said. The explosion occurred just after 3 p.m. local time, as reported by police spokesperson Timo Küfner, who said it was "still too early to say anything about a possible motive."
Police initially closed the station after discovering a suspicious package following the explosion. Küfner later confirmed the all-clear: "The object we found in front of the main train station was harmless, and we have reopened the station. The trains are running again, too." Trains resumed at 10 p.m. local time.
Another report, citing the Bild tabloid, suggested police said a hand grenade had exploded outside a jewelry shop near the station, causing minor damage to the facade. Police did not immediately confirm the grenade report. The same account mentioned that a bomb-sniffing dog uncovered a second suspicious object, which turned out to be fragments of the grenade. Window panes were also damaged, and the explosion occurred in a building passageway, according to that report.
The State Criminal Police Office (LKA) was on the scene with an explosive-disposal robot, as reported by the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. Augsburg, a regional transport hub about 55 kilometers west of Munich, saw rail service suspended while the investigation was underway.
Power Station Disruptions Investigated as Criminal Acts
Separately, police are investigating a disruption at a power station in Bergheim, western Germany, near Cologne, as a criminal act. A disruption was reported Tuesday evening around 8 , when several power lines failed following a short circuit. A police spokesperson said Wednesday morning, "Based on the current status of the investigation, we do not believe this was caused by a technical malfunction, but rather by a deliberate act, a criminal offense." The incident did not cause a power outage to the surrounding area.
Police are also investigating a separate incident in which unknown individuals attempted to cause short circuits in extra-high-voltage power lines near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg. Explosive devices were found near the plant, and the incident is being treated as an act of sabotage.
Germany Blames Russia for Leipzig Drone Incident, Announces Sanctions and Diplomatic Measures
The Augsburg explosion and power station incidents come amid heightened tensions between Germany and Russia. Germany has accused Moscow of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4, in which a drone carrying explosives was found next to a Ukrainian aircraft. Officials said the device failed to explode due to a faulty mechanism, and Germany also said it believes a second drone collided with a nearby cargo aircraft.
On Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the European Union is working on imposing more sanctions on Russian individuals in the coming weeks. "Russia has escalated and must live with the consequences," Wadephul said at a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Ireland. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the Leipzig incident had "all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism," adding that the EU was working on sanctions targeting 1,600 individuals and entities linked to Russia's military industry.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said forensic evidence and intelligence findings tied Russia to the attack, describing it as part of a "well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe." He said that although the devices required "a high degree of technical expertise," the plan appeared to have been carried out by "low-level" agents.
In response, Germany's foreign and interior ministers announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the lease for the Russian House, a Russian cultural institution in Berlin. Wadephul also announced tighter entry restrictions for Russian nationals and additional measures targeting Russia's shadow fleet, and said he had summoned Russia's ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev.
Russia Rejects Accusations
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected Germany's accusations and called the punitive measures a "serious mistake." The Russian Embassy in Berlin called the accusation "absurd," and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond in a "mirror-image" fashion to Germany's actions. The embassy later described Berlin's measures as an "unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations."