Germany says Russia behind Leipzig airport drone attack

BBC:

Germany has said Russia was responsible for last month’s drone attack at Leipzig’s airport.

A drone carrying an explosive device was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany, close to Ukrainian cargo planes, on 4 August.

It failed to explode as the detonator was apparently faulty, and investigators suspect a second drone collided with a cargo aircraft nearby. A third drone was reportedly found near the airport 10 days later.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the Leipzig airport attack followed the “well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe” and the assumption was that Germany would be targeted again.

The Russian embassy in Berlin said the allegation was “absurd”.

Dobrindt said examination of the equipment used along with intelligence findings proved Russian involvement in the attack.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who was standing beside Dobrindt at a press conference in Berlin, said he would order the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn, and the contract for the Russian House in Berlin will also be terminated – which many observers have said has been used for espionage and to spread Russian propaganda.

He also announced tighter entry controls for Russian nationals and vowed to increase pressure on Moscow’s shadow fleet – old tankers used by Russia to circumvent Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Wadephul said he had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev. He was seen arriving at the foreign ministry shortly after the announcement.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, said Moscow would respond in a “mirror-image” fashion to Germany’s measures while the Russian embassy described the measures as an “unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations”.

“Berlin is sponsoring terrorism”, Zakharova told the German Press Agency in reference to its military and economic support provided to Ukraine.

There have been previous suggestions that the Goethe-Institut in Moscow would have to cease operations if the Germans went through with closing Russian House.

Security experts had speculated that Russia may have been responsible, however Russia has always rejected claims of involvement.

Leipzig/Halle Airport in the east of the country is used by Germany’s military and Nato allies for the transport of military goods and also serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines – which carries most of the country’s aerial cargo.

The head of Nato, Mark Rutte, said the organisation “stands in full solidarity with Germany”.

“The evidence is clear. And I welcome the measures announced by Germany in response,” he wrote on X.