Dmitry Medvedev, a senior ally of Vladimir Putin, has threatened that Russian retaliation could extend to Western military facilities and “other locations” in Berlin, while Germany investigates two incidents involving critical electricity infrastructure as possible acts of sabotage.
Medvedev, Russia’s former president and current deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council, issued the warning in a fiery post on Telegram as Nato members remain on heightened alert over the risk of further Russian action against European targets.
His comments followed Berlin’s accusation that Russia was responsible for an attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4, in which a drone carrying explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft.
“Berlin has accused Russia of an unproven attack on Leipzig Airport. Given the neo-Nazi, rabidly Russophobic policies of the current German leadership, a fabricated act of sabotage is the weakest form of punishment for their sins. They deserve a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities for the Bandera clique. And quite possibly on several other locations in Berlin as well,” Medvedev wrote.
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He also attacked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky over warnings to airlines operating in Russian airspace.
“And about the mad clown’s threats against civil aviation in Russian skies. The head of state has already described them as an attempt by the Bandera regime to engage in state terrorism. They don’t negotiate with terrorists and respond to their actions with retaliation.”
Medvedev then broadened the threat to Western political leaders.
“And every terror has sponsors. At the moment, these are the heads of Western countries, primarily European ones. And they often travel to Kyiv by train…”
The remarks are characteristic of Medvedev’s increasingly confrontational public statements. The former Russian president has repeatedly used his Telegram channel to issue threats against western countries and has frequently referred to the potential use of nuclear weapons.
His latest comments came as German authorities investigated two separate incidents affecting electricity infrastructure in the east and west of the country.
Multiple explosive devices were discovered on Tuesday morning at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg. Hours later, a short circuit knocked power lines out of service at the Bergheim substation near Cologne, in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Security officials described the Bergheim incident as deliberate, while authorities are examining whether the Brandenburg case could involve terrorism.
Neither incident caused a wider disruption to electricity supplies in the affected areas.
No suspects have been identified and German authorities have not established whether the two incidents are connected. Investigators said possible perpetrators could include a foreign state or left-wing extremists.
The incidents come as Germany remains on heightened security alert following the government’s formal attribution of the Leipzig/Halle airport incident to Russia.
Herbert Reul, interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Bergheim is located, stressed the strategic importance of electricity infrastructure.
“A substation is the nerve center of our daily lives. Anyone who attacks it isn’t just attacking a tin roof — they’re attacking our country, our economy, our daily lives, and all of us,” he said.
“Critical infrastructure is the Achilles’ heel of our society. Perhaps we haven’t taken this issue seriously enough over the years.”
Brandenburg police said they had opened an investigation into the suspected formation of a terrorist organisation “in conjunction with causing an explosion involving explosives and the destruction of important work equipment.”
Jan Redmann, Brandenburg’s interior minister, said investigators were examining the possibility of foreign involvement.
“What we are currently experiencing is a hybrid threat and we therefore cannot rule out the possibility that foreign powers are behind it,” he told public broadcaster ARD.
Emergency responders and investigators searched the affected areas for evidence on Wednesday, resulting in road closures as large teams of police and security officials examined the sites.
The incidents have added to concern in Berlin over the vulnerability of Germany’s critical infrastructure to covert attacks at a time when relations with Moscow have deteriorated sharply.
German officials now face the difficult task of determining whether the incidents represent isolated criminal acts or part of a broader campaign designed to test the resilience of essential infrastructure and create political pressure.
The escalation in rhetoric from Moscow adds another dimension to the investigation. Medvedev’s suggestion that Germany and other European states could face direct retaliation comes as Berlin adopts increasingly explicit language about the threat posed by Russian sabotage and hybrid operations.
For Germany, the challenge is not only to identify those responsible but to protect critical infrastructure without allowing unsubstantiated claims to trigger further escalation between Nato and Russia.
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