Impact on federal elections?Investigators suspect Russia was behind construction foam attacks on cars
Hundreds of cars were damaged by construction foam in several states a year ago. Investigators currently assume this was intended to discredit the Green Party before the election.
Nearly a year after a series of construction foam attacks on 276 cars in four states, investigators have a suspicion: What initially appeared to be simple property damage was an attempt to influence the outcome of the federal election. There has been no definite clarification as to who carried out the actions in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg and Berlin. However, the suspect’s statement indicated that he was found in Russia.
What happened?
The exhaust pipes of a large number of vehicles were filled with construction foam between December 8 and December 11 last year. The perpetrator put a sticker on the car with a picture of then-Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck from the Green Party and the words “BE GREEN!” to. This is very annoying for car owners. Once the assembly foam hardens, it can no longer be removed easily. According to prosecutors, construction foam was sometimes only applied to the surface of the car.
Based on information, 113 vehicles were reported to have suffered damage in the Ulm Police Headquarters area. Hundreds of kilometers away, in Schönefeld in Brandenburg, owners of 43 vehicles reported the same problem. In Bavaria, 10 cars were damaged, and in Berlin the perpetrators damaged 110 vehicles.
Russian secret service mission?
The Ulm prosecutor’s office, which is in charge of the investigation, said upon request that an 18-year-old suspect had stated “that the actions were carried out by a Serbian citizen from Russia, whose identity remains unclear, to influence the voting behavior of German citizens and thereby influence the outcome of the federal elections on February 23, 2025.” He offered the defendant 100 euros as a bonus for each vehicle.
“This information has not been confirmed by further evidence,” said senior prosecutor Michael Bischofberger. Four other suspects identified so far have also provided information, but have denied the allegations.
The modus operandi suggests an influence operation
“Given the content and design of the stickers left on the affected vehicles and the period of the crime chosen shortly before the federal election, it is clear that the attack was intended to influence opinion and potential voters,” said the head of the prosecutor’s office in Ulm.
The procedures fit a general pattern, according to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). “Actions like this are intended to polarize and divide society,” said BfV Vice President Silke Willems. Current issues – in this case climate policy – are raised and efforts are made to influence public opinion.
So-called “low-level agents” will be used for this, explained Willems. This is what the Office for the Protection of the Constitution calls people who commit crimes in Germany on behalf of foreign intelligence services – mostly Russian – without being employees of foreign secret services. The henchmen, most of whom were recruited through social media, “made themselves into tools of foreign powers.” If convicted, they face significant prison sentences.
Police checked the rental vehicle
The ball started rolling when a police patrol in Schönefeld in December spotted a van with three young men carrying several shells of construction foam, like those used to cover window and door frames. Shortly after checking the rental vehicle in Ulm, the first report was received from the car owner.
The three – a 17-year-old Bosnian-Herzegovinian youth from the Bavarian Günzburg district, a 20-year-old youth with Serbian and Croatian citizenship from the Alb-Donau district, and an 18-year-old German man from Ulm – carried several cans of construction foam during an inspection near the crime scene. From the police’s perspective, the youths were unable to explain convincingly why they were carrying the cans.
Dozens of photo evidence on his cellphone
A house search was carried out on all suspects. 74 images of crime evidence were found on the cellphone. On one of the defendants, investigators found additional cans of construction foam as well as a receipt dated December 9, 2024 for the purchase of additional cans of construction foam.
In further investigations, two Romanian nationals – a 19-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man from the Alb-Donau district – came into focus, according to the prosecutor’s office. According to information, on the evening of December 9, more than 50 images of evidence of the crime were sent from the 29-year-old man’s cell phone, which was also used by the woman, to the cell phone connection of one of the three men seen during the examination. The 29-year-old man stated that the phone had been used by his 19-year-old relative, which investigators said could also be verified. The suspicions against the 29-year-old were largely invalid, he said.
According to the prosecutor’s office, all of the defendants remain at large. The financial investigation is still ongoing. Information regarding anyone who contributed to the crime cannot be provided at this time.
Warnings about recruiting efforts
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution recently publicly warned against attempts by the Russian secret services to recruit one-time agents for espionage and sabotage in Germany. Their actions are seen by security authorities as part of the hybrid threat Germany faces, especially since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Hybrid warfare is a combination of military, economic, secret service and propaganda means that can also be used to influence public opinion – even to the point of destabilizing entire societies.
