U.S. Intelligence Links Russia to Explosive Drone Near Ukraine’s An-124 at Leipzig/Halle Airport

An explosive-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting flights to be diverted and raising fears of a “multiple casualty event.”

“an estimated four hours after it breached the facility’s security”

The Guardian

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the incident was part of a “professional hybrid threat scenario” carried out by a well-equipped foreign actor, and he called it a “new level of danger” for Germany.

Al Jazeera

The drone was found in a high-security area near a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft, and German officials said it flew past the airport’s security systems for approximately four hours before being spotted by an airport shuttle driver transporting passengers at night.

The same night, a DHL cargo plane that had been forced to abort its landing due to the drone’s detection collided in mid-air with an unidentified object while climbing, and investigators later believed it hit a second hostile drone being flown that night.

U.S. intelligence experts, as reported by The Guardian and the Wall Street Journal, believe Russia was behind the Leipzig airport drone attack, while German government officials have not levelled a specific accusation against Moscow at this stage.

The Wall Street Journal was quoted as saying the drone probably belonged to the Russian government, and CNN reported Washington had concluded the drone originated from Russian intelligence, citing a U.S. Defense Department official in Europe.

CBS News

In response, the Russian Embassy in Berlin called the allegations a “hasty and fabricated provocation,” while the Al Jazeera report said Dobrindt warned Germany was facing daily “hybrid warfare” attacks from abroad.

Dobrindt told Bild am Sonntag, “We’re not at war, but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare,” and he said foreign powers wanted to subdue Germany politically and socially by stirring up fear.

Germany moved to expand its anti-drone posture after the Leipzig/Halle incident, with the interior ministry planning to double the federal expert group on countering drones to 300 people and increase operational bases from four to eight.

“plans to double its federal team of anti-drone experts to 300”

The Guardian

The Guardian reported the interior ministry said on Monday it plans to double its federal team of anti-drone experts to 300, with bases rising to eight from four, as drones were also detected above an army installation in western Germany housing components for US-made Patriot air-defence systems.

CBS News said U.S. intelligence assessments indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin could authorize provocative actions that could extend onto NATO territory, including hybrid operations and cyberattacks, and it tied the Leipzig drone to U.S. assessments of Russian origin.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned last December, “We are Russia's next target, and we are already in harm's way,” as the CBS report described the assessments as testing NATO’s unity and the Trump administration’s willingness to respond.