Drones sighted over military base in northeastern Germany last month: Report

BERLIN

Drones were spotted close to a military base near the Baltic Sea port city of Rostock last month, while Ukrainian soldiers were being trained there, the Der Spiegel news magazine reported Friday.

The Interior Ministry of the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania confirmed that the police opened an investigation. A ministry spokesperson did not provide any further information, citing the ongoing investigation.

According to the report, the incident took place on Oct. 13. Neither the German Armed Forces nor the police were able to stop the four unmanned aerial vehicles. The report said the police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are investigating unknown persons for “security-threatening imaging” of military facilities.

Nationwide, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) recorded a low four-digit number of drone flights with a suspected political background over German Armed Forces locations, arms manufacturers, and critical infrastructure in the first nine months of this year, an unidentified spokesperson for the agency told German Press Agency (dpa).

The BKA has been recording such incidents since the beginning of the year.