Germany accuses Russia of drone attack on Leipzig airport

The German government has accused Russia of being behind an attempted drone attack on a major regional airport last month.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday that the attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany using a drone laden with explosives fits a known pattern of “Russian hybrid operations” and added that investigators had proof that agents controlling the drone were working on “behalf of Russian state entities”.

“Taken ‌together, police investigations, patterns of the offences and intelligence findings establish Russian responsibility for the attempted attack,” he told reporters, standing alongside Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. “The federal government therefore concludes that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack.”

The drone was found at the airport near a Ukrainian cargo plane on the evening of August 4 and defused.

The findings were announced as several European countries that are providing Ukraine with support as it defends itself against Russia’s four-and-a-half-year invasion have reported an increase in sabotage attacks and attempts that they blame on Russia.

Dobrindt said German authorities do not view the attack as an isolated incident. “It fits into a ⁠broader pattern of Russian hybrid ⁠operations in Europe,” he asserted.

Wadephul said Germany is implementing a series of measures in response.

The Russian ambassador has been summoned, while Russia’s consulate general ⁠in Bonn and the Russian House cultural centre ⁠in Berlin will be shuttered, he said.