German underground infrastructure vulnerable to sabotage: expert explains the reasons.

According to ТСН: The organization of engineering networks in Germany has its peculiarities: all communications are located underground and are almost unprotected, making them vulnerable to possible sabotage. Detecting and eliminating damages in such a system is a complex and lengthy process.

Problems of network inspection and repair

The program director of AdlerA e. V. Oksana Orel noted in an interview that there are no overhead power lines and cables in Germany — all infrastructure is concentrated underground.

“In fact, there are no street poles and cables like ours that are above ground. Everything is underground. And underground, all cables and all communications run parallel. That is: water, heating, internet, light — everything goes in parallel in one, shall we say, channel,” she said.

She also emphasized that in case of network damage, it is impossible to visually determine the location of the accident.

“And when it has been somehow damaged, it is necessary to excavate a large area of land, go very deeply in there and search for all these places. That is, it is not visible; you have to search for where exactly this damage occurred,” she said.

Lack of emergency teams

In addition, the expert pointed out the absence of permanent emergency electrical teams in Germany.

“This is one story. The second story: since they do not need to repair daily when, for example, wind or rain causes a power outage — they do not have such strong professional teams of electricians that ensure the operation of electrical networks on an ongoing basis. They mainly work as outsourcing. That is, something happened — very rarely, very rarely. It would not occur to anyone that there could be some sabotage related to communications,” she said.

Orel noted that such a model of infrastructure functioning has existed for many years and has led to a lack of security for critically important facilities.

“And this has been going on for many years. That is, the Germans have become accustomed to the fact that everything is fine. And these critical facilities are practically unprotected. That is, they are freely accessible. I can walk down the street and throw anything there — either a lighter or something — and there could be some critical situation. Because it does not occur to anyone that someone might damage something…,” she said.

Recent events

Recently, in the southwestern part of Berlin, tens of thousands of people were left without electricity. Many families sought shelter with friends or warmed themselves in emergency points due to the lack of light and heat.

The cause of the outage was a fire in a cable joint over the Teltow Canal, which feeds the Lichterfelde power station. The fire damaged important trunk lines, and the police are currently investigating the arson.

In connection with these events, refugees from Ukraine organized 'Points of Unbreakability' to support local residents.

These events indicate the vulnerability of Germany's infrastructure in crisis situations. The absence of regular maintenance and protection of important facilities highlights the need for developing more reliable security systems, especially in light of recent incidents. Organizations that support refugees also play an important role in providing assistance to local communities in difficult times.