Russian school in Berlin targeted in arson attack

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – A Russian school became the target of an arson attack in Berlin early Friday morning, local media reports said.

Unknown persons carried out an arson attack on the International German-Russian Lomonossow School in Berlin’s Marzahn district, according to Der Tagesspiegel daily.

No one was hurt, but there was damage to the structure of the buildings, Berlin’s fire department announced.

A connection to the ongoing Ukraine war is also being examined, as several surveillance cameras reportedly filmed the lone perpetrator setting the fire at the entrance of the school.

Reacting to the attack, Interior Ministry spokesman Marek Wede told journalists in Berlin, “We are in close contact with security authorities. We’re monitoring possible incidents, be they hostile to Russia or hostile to Ukraine.”

“Luckily it's still a low number. We cannot at the moment determine that there are any anti-Russian security breaches in Germany,” he added.

Germans with Russian roots have been reporting verbal and even physical attacks against them in everyday life since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine.

There are around 6 million Russian-speaking people live in Germany. Most are German citizens: ethnic Germans who moved away from the former Soviet Union — mainly from Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.