Suspected sabotage causes major Netherlands rail disruption

scrollaway

Little by little, people are realising that Europe is at war. Politicians are trying so hard not to say it because of the implications, but there’s only so long you can keep your head buried in the sand. We’re under constant attacks from Russia… drones, sabotage, cyberattacks, propaganda campaigns derailing our elections… I’m sick of it.

apt-get

Just days after a similar (criminal) incident causing a train to derail in France: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2026/09/12/french-p... "close to Renault's factory in the town of Cléon", which is now preparing to start manufacturing drones for the French military, in collaboration with Ukrainian military-industrial groups.

sorenjan

A Russian warship fired flares at a Danish military helicopter in international waters in the Baltic sea too. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwn8mjl31p5yo

Kim_Bruning

So today's the yearly presentation of the new budget, with protests expected in several places. Whether this sabotage campaign is (part of a) misguided protest action or something else is yet to be determined. https://nos.nl/liveblog/2631038-nog-steeds-nieuwe-sabotageac... (Use google translate to read)

barrenko

As a european, for the love of god, can we address any single of our concerns by either the national or the supranational government? It seems as if one ambiguates the other.

HelloUsername

Might be related to today's yearly 'Prinsjesdag' in the Netherlands: The day on which the reigning monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States-General of the Netherlands (consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) to give the Speech from the Throne (Dutch: Troonrede), similar to the annual State of the Union in the United States or the British State Opening of Parliament. This speech sets out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsjesdag

AmericanOP

Putin’s exit narrative requires escalation. Defeat vs Ukraine is a pathetic wound- “we would have won if it weren’t for.. europe” is preferable to narcissistic permanent victimhood. Solovyov propaganda is pure nuclear revenge fantasy: https://youtu.be/dA4RP3uID6Q?is=ApmFQtgZvY7mWajP

walrus01

And on the same day that a (very likely Russian) UAV had to be shot down in Lithuanian air space. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjx2zgk7edlzo

assimpleaspossi

I don't understand. What does this have to do with HN, the typical topics, and the typical users who come here?

NicoJuicy

And Putin has trump in his pocket. Some oligarch just had to pay a couple of big bucks for his sons wedding... https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-b...

amelius

Makes you think. If Russia can get a bunch of teenagers to put pipes on the railway tracks or fly some drones near an airport, then so can AI.

bamboozled

The little green men

nelox

I would be surprised if it wasn’t by Russia. Russian infrastructure is being systematically destroyed by Ukraine with funding, training, intelligence and materiel from Europe. This is an attempt to discourage European support by disrupting Europeans.

bsoqk

Putin must be really happy - whatever happens in Europe, he's blamed for it, making him look omnipotent. Most countries would love to have that kind of power. It’s so much more likely to be the farmers, but it's easier to blame Putin and do nothing about it than it is to stop ruining the farmers and risk angering the cosmopolitan politicians whose votes in the parliament you need.

kaon_2

Sad to see so many people here in the comments jump the gun and think of Russia. Some local context: Today is "prinsjesdag" when the budget is announced. Protests are common, particularly when sensitive decisions are made. There are multiple organized protest movements in the country that have used physical force in the past and some of them had announced protests for today. Could it be Russia? Yes. But local protests seem significantly more likely. Moreover, if I were Putin I wouldn't expose my foreign agents this physically. I would use them in much more insidious ways such as actually starting or supporting these protest movements. In a similar vein: Could any shooting in the US be caused by foreign agents? Maybe. But usually there is a much simpler explanation; guns and bitterness.

cynicalsecurity

Europeans don't realise how close war is to their homes. Russia won't stop unless it's stopped.

NietTim

It should be noted that today is Prinsjesdag and the new yearly budget is being presented, or however that is properly translated in english. Especially now that farmers are also lighting hay bales on fire next to highways the most likely explanation is nationals doing this

anovikov

Well this is natural, terrorism in Europe is almost entirely Russia-originating (and have always been, see drop to nearly zero after 1991 when Russia lost the capability).

Muximize

Farmers protesting new nitrogen emissions regulation. They are also setting hay bales on fire next to highways. The rail sabotage is relatively harmless, the tracks use block signalling so if you use a conductive metal bar or jumper cables to connect the rails, the system thinks a train is present and the preceding signal will stay red.

igleria

I'm starting to be a little worried about what Putin has planned for Europe.