German investigators identify Russian and Belarusian suspects in Leipzig airport drone attack plot

German authorities have identified two individuals they believe orchestrated a failed plot to attack cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, and WDR. The first suspect, born in Russia and holding a Latvian passport, served as a logistics coordinator and instructor for the attack.

He entered Germany via Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport in late July and departed for Leipzig in a rental car two days before the attempted bombing. The second suspect, born in Belarus and holding a Russian passport, was identified through DNA found at the crime scene. Investigators found traces of explosives on a tin can and an antenna near the airport, matching samples against European databases up to Lithuania and Finland.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the attack as meticulously planned and executed, involving "high-level technical expertise and considerable organizational effort." Dobrindt stated that the incident mirrored patterns of Russian hybrid operations in Europe, suggesting the suspects acted on behalf of Russian state authorities.

Meanwhile, Germany's federal prosecutor's office is pursuing a case against the two defendants, though challenges to bringing them to justice persist due to previous instances where agents evaded detention. The Russian Embassy in Berlin dismissed the incident as a "hastily concocted provocation," warning of a "new wave of anti-Russian hysteria" in Germany.

In response to the attack, Germany closed the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin on September 1st. This marks the first time Germany has formally blamed Russia for the Leipzig airport attack, and the closure follows the discovery of three additional drones near German airports with traces of explosives, raising further suspicion of Russian involvement.