Germany has officially stated, through Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, that Russia is responsible for the drone attack on Leipzig airport on 4 August.

The minister said the attack followed the “established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe” and that it had been assumed Germany would once again be a target.

He explained that German security services are recording a “high level of threat” from hybrid operations in Germany and other European countries, and that the evidence “points” towards Russian involvement.German

He added that he had held extensive talks on the matter with the National Security Council, as well as with the cabinet and Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The methods used in the sabotage at Leipzig “are familiar to us from other hybrid operations carried out by Russia, and from its war against Ukraine,” Dobrindt said, providing details of the drone’s configuration, the components used and the explosives involved.

The attempted attack on Leipzig airport on 4 August “matches the established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe,” he concluded, adding that the German government has determined “that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig on 4 August.”

Notably, at the very moment of the press conference, the Russian ambassador to Germany was passing through the gates of the Foreign Ministry.

Airport staff had spotted a drone near Ukrainian cargo aircraft, more or less by chance.

The drone was carrying an explosive device that failed to detonate because the detonator was faulty. German authorities suspect that a second drone also collided with a cargo aircraft parked a short distance away.

Russia has so far rejected the allegations of its involvement.