Explosive drone at German airport linked to Russian military intelligence, US intel source says
The drone was fitted with explosives that did not detonate, a source said.
An explosive drone found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig airport in Germany earlier this month bore the hallmarks of devices typically employed by Russia's Military Intelligence Directorate, the GRU, a U.S. intelligence source told ABC News.
The U.S. official, who was briefed on the investigation into the alleged sabotage plot, said the explosives fitted to the drone as well as the structure of the lethal device were "typical" of those used by Russia's GRU.
This U.S. assessment was made in conjunction with German security and intelligence agencies, the source added.
In a statement released on Monday, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, accused German politicians and European media outlets of "immediately" reaching "an equivocal conclusion" and of accusing Russia, "without even waiting for the preliminary results of the investigation."
The discovery of the small drone fitted, German officials said, with explosives and a detonator on Aug. 4 led to the temporary shutdown of Leipzig airport as bomb disposal teams deployed a robot to secure the device, which did not explode.
At the time, Germany's Interior Minister said a drone armed with explosives at an airport represented "a new threat scenario" and said the plot involved a "high level of technical expertise".
The U.S. intelligence source briefed on the investigation told ABC News the device failed to explode because its triggering mechanism was disconnected.
German Federal Police told ABC News that "due to ongoing investigations, no further comment is intended."
Leipzig airport is a major cargo hub and is used by the U.S. military and NATO allies to transport armaments to Ukraine.
Investigators believe the explosive drone was designed to disable aircraft parked on the airfield in order to delay shipments to Ukraine and to send a warning to Germany about its continued support for the Ukrainian war effort.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Germany's Chancellor Friederich Merz did not comment on who was responsible for the alleged sabotage plot, but said German agencies were "working intensively" on the case and would present their findings "shortly".
The German leader said his country had "increasingly become a target for hybrid attackers".
"Hybrid" warfare is a broad term typically used to refer to sabotage, cyber and disinformation-style plots and attacks. In Europe, officials often attribute these types of incidents to unofficial actors working on behalf of the Russian state.
Merz' comments followed reports in the German media that another drone was found in a field close to Leipzig airport on Aug. 14, 10 days after the original security scare following the discovery of the drone fitted with explosives on the airfield. German police provided no comment.
In the wake of the security scare at Leipzig on Aug. 4, U.S. officials said the airport had previously been the target of "multiple suspected Russian sabotage operations".
There had been 18 drone incidents that disrupted air traffic at the airport since January 2026, the officials said.
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