Germany formally blamed Russia on September 1 for an explosive-laden drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport on August 4 that targeted a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane used to transport weapons to Ukraine. The drone, carrying 600 grams of military explosive hexogen, was discovered in the airport's security area near the aircraft. Its detonator failed, but officials said it could have caused a catastrophe.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced that the Russian state provided the know-how and equipment for the attack, and that low-level agents were recruited to carry it out. We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare, Wadephul said at a Berlin briefing.

The retaliatory package includes closure of Russia's consulate general in Bonn later this month, eviction of the Russian House cultural and science institute from its Berlin premises, crackdown on Russia's shadow fleet of illegal oil-carrying ships in the Baltic and North seas, new blacklist entries and tighter border controls for Russian nationals, and support for the EU's 22nd sanctions package targeting 1,600 additional Russian-connected companies.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed full solidarity with Berlin. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to keep the EU united despite these escalating acts. French President Emmanuel Macron called for European unity, saying these hybrid attacks cannot go unanswered. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the sanctions as another mistake that runs counter to the interests of the German people.

German investigators connected the Leipzig drone to other explosives finds across Europe in Romania, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, and the UK, suggesting a coordinated Russian hybrid warfare campaign. The announcement came ahead of critical state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg Vorpommern.

Sources