US intelligence believes explosives-equipped drone at German airport likely belongs to Moscow, WSJ reports

A drone equipped with explosives discovered at Leipzig airport in Germany is likely to have originated from Moscow, according to U.S. intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported on August 7. The revelation follows a Ukrainian cargo plane laden with ammunition that was targeted by a drone carrying explosives at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4, as per German media reports.

Flights at the airport were halted overnight on August 5 after a modified drone was spotted and later found near a Ukrainian Antonov Airlines An-124 transport aircraft, and a second unidentified flying object collided with a DHL cargo plane. Authorities are still examining the second drone that impacted the aircraft, the Wall Street Journal stated.

The news arrives as U.S. intelligence has heightened warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin might provoke a NATO member with a limited attack in early autumn, the Journal noted. Officials in Washington had previously considered such an attack unlikely given Russia's focus on its conflict in Ukraine. The recent intelligence assessment aligns with several similar forecasts from European officials in recent months.

The identity of those responsible for the attempted attack remains unknown. On August 5, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt referred to the incident as a "hybrid attack scenario." He did not specify Russia but noted that the Kremlin has been waging a hybrid war to destabilize European nations for years. While drone threats, including those with explosives, were not new, having an armed drone on airport grounds represented a novel threat scenario, Dobrindt explained.

He emphasized that such incidents involving suspected Russian-linked drones have repeatedly disrupted airports across Europe, leading to flight suspensions and diversions. Leipzig/Halle Airport has been a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines since shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion began. According to German newspaper Bild, four Ukrainian cargo aircraft were present at the airport during the suspected attack.