German police are investigating a suspected sabotage attempt after a drone rigged with explosives was discovered next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle Airport.
Drone found with detonator
The Ukrainian An-124 cargo aircraft was parked at the airport, a major hub for cargo flights, when the drone was found just before midnight. The device was fitted with an unknown substance and a detonator.
A bomb squad was called to carry out a remote detonation, and no injuries or fatalities were reported. Leipzig-Halle Airport also serves passenger flights, but the cargo area is separate from the passenger zone.
Possible sabotage investigation
Police are treating the discovery as a possible sabotage attack, though no leads have emerged so far.
Russian saboteurs have been the leading suspects in several recent incidents involving fires or explosives near cargo. In 2024, a DHL plane flying from Leipzig to Lithuania crashed, killing one person and injuring three. That incident followed a firebomb at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, which was described as a test run by Russian spies.
Before the Birmingham blaze, a similar fire occurred at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig, where the crashed plane had departed from. European authorities, including MI6, have previously accused Russia of orchestrating a sabotage campaign against aircraft.
Wider interference concerns
Russia is suspected of targeting aircraft navigation systems for years, with interference affecting airlines such as Ryanair, Wizz Air, British Airways, EasyJet, TUI, and Jet2, according to an open-source investigation. Between August 2023 and March 2024, 46,000 flights in areas like the Baltic, Black Sea, and eastern Mediterranean reported interference issues.
The Kremlin has denied any wrongdoing. In 2019, the Norwegian defence ministry raised the issue with Russian officials, and electronic attacks have been allegedly used in eastern Ukraine since 2015.
