Germany to say who's behind attempted airport drone attack soon, says Merz

The German government plans to disclose the identity of those responsible for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport in the near future, according to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Merz informed attendees at a coalition summit that his administration is collaborating closely with security agencies and intends to provide further comment shortly.

Security sources, as cited by local media, point to Russian intelligence as a possible suspect in the failed attack. However, Berlin has not made any explicit allegations. On August 4, an explosives-laden drone was spotted near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft carrying military supplies. Following a temporary shutdown of the airport, security forces suspect that a second drone crashed into a DHL cargo plane.

German investigators uncovered a third drone and evidence of explosives ten days after the initial incident. Reports from broadcasters NDR and WDR, as well as the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, revealed that the third drone was found to the west of the airport and contained approximately 50 grams of a substance suspected to be the military explosive hexogen. The office of the prosecutor general has not commented on the reports.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident.