Germany has pointed to Russia as responsible for the failed attack with drones loaded with explosives against the Leipzig/Halle airport on August 4. The Government of Friedrich Merz thus elevates the episode to the category of hybrid threat and announces a response against Moscow, while the authorities investigate another possible sabotage against a strategic electrical infrastructure in Brandenburg.
The German Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, and the Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, appeared this Tuesday in Berlin to communicate the conclusions reached by the Executive after several weeks of investigation.
"The German government concludes that Russia is responsible for the attack on August 4 at Leipzig airport," Dobrindt stated, according to the information released after the appearance. The German public television ARD has also confirmed that the federal government officially attributes the incident to Russia.
The decision represents a change from the position that Berlin maintained just 24 hours earlier. This Monday, the government spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius, refused to advance an attribution while investigations remained open and assured that any pointing would occur when the evidence was sufficiently solid.
At least three drones and explosives
The incident occurred during the night of August 4. At least three drones were involved in an operation directed against the Leipzig/Halle airport, where Ukrainian aircraft were located.
One of the devices loaded with explosives reached the vicinity of a Ukrainian plane. Another is said to have impacted against an aircraft without causing serious damage, while a third drone with explosive material was located days later within the airport perimeter.
The investigation determined that one of the devices did not explode due to a failure in the detonation mechanism, preventing a larger incident. Associated Press confirms that Berlin considers the episode a manifestation of Russian hybrid operations.
The German government had already classified the finding of a drone loaded with explosives as a "very serious security incident" and a "new quality of threat." The National Security Council met on August 7 under the presidency of Chancellor Friedrich Merz to analyze the case.
"Russia has Germany as a target"
The attribution comes amid German concern over the so-called hybrid war, which encompasses everything from sabotage and espionage to disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, or actions against critical infrastructure.
"Russia has Germany as a target, just like the whole of Europe," Wadephul warned during the appearance.
Dobrindt has insisted that Germany "is not at war," but is indeed repeatedly exposed to disinformation, sabotage, attacks against critical infrastructure, and actions against Ukrainian interests.
This description coincides with the official assessment that the German Government itself made before attributing the Leipzig attack. Berlin maintains that Germany and Europe are subjected to an increasing combination of espionage, sabotage, disinformation, and cyberattacks from abroad.
Explosives near a thermal power plant in Brandenburg
The accusation against Russia has coincided with another incident affecting a critical German infrastructure, although for now the authorities have not linked both cases.
The police are investigating a possible attack against the electrical substation of Turnow-Preilack, in Brandenburg, a facility connected to Jänschwalde, one of the main thermal power plants in the region.
Investigators located an unexploded incendiary device and other homemade projectiles on the premises. Part of the infrastructure was temporarily out of service, although the general supply could be restored and there was no significant interruption of the grid.
The operator 50Hertz reported that the devices used were similar to homemade pyrotechnic projectiles and that other unused ones were found.
The company LEAG, responsible for the Jänschwalde plant, communicated a temporary shutdown of one of its units. The authorities in Brandenburg are investigating the episode as a possible deliberate attack against an energy infrastructure.
Berlin prepares its response
The Leipzig case has accelerated the response of Merz's Executive against drones and hybrid attacks. Germany is already working on strengthening the capacity of its security forces to detect, intercept, and neutralize unmanned devices.
The Government has also raised the general threat level from "abstract" to "high", after receiving an increasing volume of information from its own intelligence services and allied countries. Berlin specifies, however, that there is currently no specific threat against the population.
The response will also have a diplomatic dimension. According to Associated Press, Wadephul has announced measures against Russian interests in Germany, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn on September 18 and the end of the agreement that allows the Russian House cultural center to operate in Berlin.
The German political offensive comes after Merz warned at the end of August that those responsible for the Leipzig episode would have to answer for their actions. The issue of drones was also part of the Executive's discussions during its retreat at the end of August, where the Government analyzed new defense capabilities against this type of threat.