Germany says Russia behind Leipzig airport drone attack

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.

The issue was due to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland later on Tuesday.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “We are united in our resolve to stand against Russian aggression. We will deter anyone who seeks to undermine our freedom and security.”

She added that the EU was preparing additional sanctions against Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia was “escalating tension across the whole region”. Polish prosecutors are investigating whether foreign intelligence services were involved in a fire at a factory making drone components on Monday.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Russian attempts to undermine our united resolve and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and doomed to fail.”

Germany is one of several Nato member states to have reported drone sightings at airports, military and industrial sites over the last year.

Berlin has until now been tight-lipped about who may have been behind the Leipzig attack, except to say “foreign powers” may have been involved.

US media had already reported that American officials had linked the incident to Russia.

Berlin has warned that the country is the “daily target” of hybrid warfare, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned last week that those who carried out hostile acts against Germany would “pay a price”.

The government is looking to boost the powers of its intelligence services, which have long been criticised as relatively toothless, to counter such threats.

Germany is a key backer of Ukraine with Merz forthright in his support for Kyiv.

However an MP in Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) party said the measures so far taken against Russia “fall far short of what is required” and Moscow “just laughs” when its ambassador is summoned.

“From a self-proclaimed leading nation, I expect courage and resolve, not self-deterrence and appeasement,” said Roderich Kiesewetter.

It is not hard to imagine why Ukrainian cargo planes at a key German logistics hub might be in Moscow’s sights.

But this announcement comes at a delicate moment for Merz’s government.

A key state election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt could propel the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) into power at a state-level for the first time.

The AfD, which is Germany’s biggest opposition party, wants to stop sending support to Ukraine and reopen ties with Russia.

In a separate development, German police said they were investigating the discovery of improvised explosive and incendiary devices at a power substation in the eastern state of Brandenburg on Tuesday.

A power line was damaged, which caused a temporary outage. It is not known who planted the devices.