Key Facts

• A drone carrying plastic explosives was found next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport last week.
• The German interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, called the attack a "professional hybrid threat" by a foreign actor.
• US officials told media that intelligence points to Russian government involvement and the drone likely came from Russian secret services.
• German authorities discovered DNA evidence linking the Leipzig drone incident to a July 2024 firebomb attack at the same airport.
• Five men are on trial in Lithuania accused of sending related explosive packages, and prosecutors say they worked for Russian intelligence.
• The drone flew past Leipzig airport’s defenses and was stopped only after being reported by an alert bus driver four hours later.
• On the same night, a DHL cargo plane aborted landing due to the drone and collided with another unknown object, suspected to be a second hostile drone.
• Germany plans to double its federal anti-drone team and increase operational bases to better handle drone threats.