Herbert Reul, the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), stated during a press conference in Düsseldorf on 2026-09-02 that there is a suspicion of 'constitutional sabotage' (verfassungsfeindliche Sabotage) in connection with a suspected attack on a power plant near Cologne. ^[1] German authorities launched investigations into two suspected attacks on electricity substations in different parts of the country on Wednesday. ^[2] Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, posted on Telegram that Russia could kill leaders of Western countries, primarily European ones. ^[3] A suspected attack attempt on a power plant (Umspannwerk) near Cologne is the subject of the investigation and the minister's statement. ^[4] Germany announced counter-measures on Tuesday, including shutting Russia's consulate in Bonn and canceling a contract for a Russian cultural centre in Berlin. ^[5] North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said officials were probing whether the attacks were directed by a foreign state or left-wing extremism. ^[6] Russia summoned Germany's charge d'affaires to protest what it called anti-Russian actions following Berlin's announcement of sanctions over an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport. ^[7] Dmitry Medvedev stated that Berlin's accusation of an unproven attack on Leipzig Airport was a fabricated act of sabotage by the current German leadership. ^[8] Dmitry Medvedev suggested that Russia deserves a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities and several other locations in Berlin. ^[9] Multiple explosive devices were found Tuesday morning at a substation near the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant in Brandenburg, and a short circuit knocked power lines out of service at the Bergheim power substation near Cologne. ^[10]