Germany has officially accused Russia of attempted terrorist attack at Leipzig Airport and has introduced retaliatory measures
The German Federal Government has stated that Russia is responsible for the incident involving a drone near a Ukrainian An-124 aircraft, which took place on 4 August at Leipzig Airport. They described it as an "attempted terrorist attack" and a "hybrid attack" by the Russians, and announced retaliatory measures.
This was announced by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadepful during a joint press conference, according to Censor.NET.
Conclusions regarding Russia’s involvement
Dobrindt noted that the conclusion regarding Russia’s involvement was reached on the basis of the results of the police investigation, the nature of the crime and intelligence data.
"Taken together, the police investigations, the nature of the crimes and the intelligence data point to Russia’s responsibility for the attempted terrorist attack at Leipzig Airport," said the German Interior Minister.
According to him, the German government has concluded that Moscow is behind the "hybrid attack" in Leipzig, which took place on 4 August. The Interior Minister believes that the direct perpetrators are so-called "low-level agents", and that the method used in the attack fits a well-known pattern of Russian operations.
Diplomatic consequences
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadepuhl stated that, in response to the attempted terrorist attack in Berlin, the Russian Consulate-General and the "Russian House" organisation would be closed. Germany also plans to tighten controls on Russians entering the country.
"I have given instructions to summon the Russian ambassador. We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by Russian attacks.The Russian Consulate-General in Bonn will cease operations by 18 September, and the agreement governing the activities of the ‘Russian House’ in Berlin will be terminated. Furthermore, stricter entry requirements will be introduced for Russian citizens, and further measures will be taken against the Russian shadow fleet," the minister added.
Russia has already vowed to retaliate. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Germany had "long been looking for a pretext" to close "Russian House".
The significance of Leipzig Airport
Leipzig Airport is of great importance not only as a logistics hub – for example, for the parcel delivery service DHL – but is also regularly used for military transport by the Bundeswehr and NATO.
What led up to this
- It was previously reported that on the night of Wednesday 5 August, a drone was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft at the airport. It was equipped with explosives and a detonator. According to Die Zeit, the aircraft in question is an Antonov, which is believed to belong to the Ukrainian Air Force.
- NATO confirmed that it was aware of the incident. German police deployed a bomb-disposal robot to retrieve the drone.
- Subsequently, German media reported that
there was ammunition on board the Ukrainian cargo aircraft near which the drone containing explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
- US intelligence believes that the explosive-laden drone discovered at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany likely belongs to the Russian Federation.
- The day before, the media reported that the German government plans to announce shortly that Russia is behind the incident involving the drone laden with explosives found at Leipzig Airport.
- Furthermore, Berlin intends to announce "far-reaching measures" against Russia, whilst the EU will impose new sanctions.
