Incidents at military facilities keep authorities busy

In Saxony-Anhalt, the authorities are once again investigating a possible security incident on a Bundeswehr training ground. Following a number of incidents involving drones in the past, the Halle police inspectorate is currently investigating the case of a 53-year-old German man who was found in his car on a training ground in the Zeitz forest in southern Saxony-Anhalt. According to a police spokeswoman, soldiers from the German Armed Forces had already identified and checked a driver on the training ground in Zeitzer Forst on Wednesday. After becoming aware of what had happened, the police launched an investigation to clarify the facts. These are still ongoing. According to the police spokesperson, thoroughness comes first.

Man pretends to be a mushroom picker

As first reported by the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung", the man claimed to be a mushroom picker. However, the investigators considered this to be dubious. The Federal Ministry of Defense had also been informed about the incident. According to the police, the man was a 53-year-old German. He had been asked by the soldiers to leave the area and had been accompanied there.

The Bundeswehr training area in Zeitzer Forst is used by the 701 Armored Engineer Battalion from Gera in Thuringia, among others. According to the Bundeswehr, the soldiers are responsible for preparing the battlefield for their own troops in the event of an emergency. They cut aisles and overcome barriers and bodies of water. According to the city of Zeitz, Panzerpionierbataillon 701 is rooted in the border triangle of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. Around 500 soldiers belong to the battalion.

SPD interior politician: "You don't accidentally get lost there"

The Federal Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr Operational Command did not wish to comment on the ongoing proceedings. Guarding and protecting military security areas is a high priority for the Bundeswehr, said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense. "We are prepared for possible security incidents and react on an ad hoc basis." There are specific security measures tailored to the property and the possible threat situation.

"It could certainly be very interesting for the Russian services to see what is being practised there," said Rüdiger Erben, SPD interior politician from Saxony-Anhalt, to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper. "You don't accidentally get lost there as a harmless mushroom picker or walker."

Further incidents involving drones over military installations

Drone flights over military installations are also keeping the security authorities busy. According to the Ministry of the Interior in Magdeburg, two incidents involving drones were recorded over Bundeswehr sites in Saxony-Anhalt in the first half of 2025 - in the previous year there were four, in 2023 even 29 cases. At that time, several thousand Ukrainian soldiers were being trained at the Klietz site. Although there is no verified evidence of Russian intelligence services behind the drone flights, the sighting of drones during the training of Ukrainian soldiers at least suggests an intelligence operation, according to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior. However, this could not be proven or disproven.