Germany has blamed Russia for an attempted explosive drone attack targeted at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month.
The device was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane on the evening of 4 August and defused.
German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that the event corresponds with a known pattern of “Russian hybrid operations.”
He said the German government “comes to the conclusion that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig on 4 August.
“We assume that Germany is the target of further hybrid attacks by Russia,” he added.
Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephu, has ordered a series of measures in response, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn along with the Russian House, a cultural centre in Berlin.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said “the evidence was clear” and he welcomed the measures after speaking with German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
He wrote on X: “Nato will continue to strengthen our ability to deter and defend all Allies against any threat – including malign actions like those seen in Leipzig and elsewhere across the Alliance.
“Russia’s attempts to intimidate us, to undermine our unity and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and will fail. Our support to Ukraine is unwavering, as is our ironclad commitment to Nato’s collective defence.”
He is due to meet with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the issue on Wednesday.
Leipzig/Halle is a major hub for international freight and for providing support to Ukraine. The planes that regularly use it include Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft.
In 2024, an incendiary device ignited at a logistics centre at the airport and set fire to a freight container before it could be loaded onto a cargo plane, part of a plot that Western security officials suspect was organized by Russian intelligence.
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