Conflict & Security
Leipzig drone: media identify two Russian suspects
German media reported Wednesday that police have identified two suspects linked to an attempted “hybrid attack” involving an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig airport last month.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily and public broadcasters NDR and WDR said one suspect is a Belarusian national who also holds a Russian passport and is believed to have entered the Schengen area with an Italian tourist visa issued in Minsk. The outlets reported that his DNA was found at the airport and that he had previously attracted attention for offences in the Baltic states.
The media reports said the second suspect holds Latvian and Russian passports and is believed to have acted as a logistics coordinator and instructor. He allegedly arrived at Berlin airport at the end of July, rented a car to travel to the Leipzig region and left Germany two days before the suspected attack.
The outlets said police identified the two men through DNA traces found at and around the airport, including on a drone, in a tin can filled with explosives and on an antenna attached to a tree. They said European databases produced matches, including in Lithuania and Finland, which were corroborated by intelligence service information.
Germany on Tuesday blamed Russia for the Leipzig incident, saying it involved “low-level agents”, and announced measures including closing the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural centre in Berlin.
The drone was discovered in the secure cargo operations area at Leipzig airport, near a Ukrainian cargo plane. German media also reported that another drone was later found near the airport with traces of explosive substances.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he had discussed “Russia's attack” on German soil with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz by telephone. “This is yet another Russian escalation, and it is important that Germany responded,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Germany's reaction was “a mistake, a serious one”. Russia said Wednesday it was summoning Germany's charge d'affaires to protest what it called anti-Russian actions and statements by German authorities.
Update
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed what he called Russia's attack on German soil with Chancellor Friedrich Merz by telephone.
Zelensky said Germany's response was important.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 16:06:29 UTC.
Update
German media reported that police identified two suspects linked to the Leipzig airport drone incident.
The reports said DNA traces were found on a drone, a tin can filled with explosives and an antenna attached to a tree.
The reports said one suspect is a Belarusian national with a Russian passport and the other holds Latvian and Russian passports.
Russia said it was summoning Germany's charge d'affaires over what it called anti-Russian actions and statements.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 September 2026 at 13:53:19 UTC.
Update
Germany said Britain, France, Poland, Spain and Sweden backed Berlin over the incident.
Sweden summoned the Russian ambassador in Stockholm over the incident.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Germany assumed it was the target of further Russian hybrid attacks.
Dobrindt blamed what he called low-level agents for the operation.
German security services believe the Russian House in Berlin is used to spread propaganda and as an intelligence hub.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 21:55:06 UTC.
Update
Putin called German sanctions over the drone incident “another mistake”.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 21:14:35 UTC.
Update
Germany said the Russian ambassador in Berlin was being summoned.
Britain, Estonia, Poland, France and Spain were reported as offering support for Germany's position.
Germany said it would cancel the contract for the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin.
Another drone was reportedly found weeks later near the airport with traces of an explosive substance.
Additional detail was supplied on German security concerns about the Russian House.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 20:39:29 UTC.
Update
Russia's ambassador said German sanctions over the drone incident would have consequences.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 20:19:47 UTC.
Update
French President Emmanuel Macron said he backed new sanctions on Russia over the Germany drone incident.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:15:34 UTC.
Update
The Russian ambassador to Berlin was being summoned.
Sweden summoned the Russian ambassador in Stockholm over the Leipzig incident.
Britain, Estonia and Poland were among countries offering backing to Germany.
Germany said it would cancel the contract for the Russian House in Berlin.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 18:02:47 UTC.
Update
Germany said it would close Russia's consulate in Bonn later this month and cancel the lease for the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany was tightening entry controls for Russian nationals and would propose adding more Russian individuals to EU sanctions lists.
Wadephul said Germany was increasing pressure on what he called the Russian shadow fleet.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Germany concluded Russia was responsible after assessing the drone technology and other intelligence.
NATO chief Mark Rutte vowed full solidarity with Berlin and said NATO would defend allies against any threat.
The item adds details that police used a robot to defuse the explosive-laden drone near a Ukrainian cargo plane and that another drone was reportedly found later near the airport with traces of an explosive substance.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 16:22:38 UTC.
Update
Ursula von der Leyen said the EU stood in full solidarity with Germany after Berlin blamed Moscow for a drone incident at Leipzig airport in August.
Von der Leyen said the European Union was preparing additional sanctions against Russia.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 16:06:33 UTC.
Update
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Russia's consulate in Bonn would be closed by September 18.
Wadephul said the lease for the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin would be cancelled.
Germany linked the closures to its statement that Moscow was responsible for a drone incident at a strategic airport.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 September 2026 at 15:57:12 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The suspects' identities and alleged roles are based on German media reports in the supplied material, not an official police announcement.
The supplied material describes the incident as attempted and does not say the explosive device detonated.
Source
AFP news report published on .