By Markus Wacket
BERLIN, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Germany is set to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August and could prepare new sanctions against Moscow in coordination with allies, two sources said on Tuesday.
Airport workers had found a drone laden with explosives and a detonator at the airport, an important civilian freight and NATO logistics hub in eastern Germany that is also a base for several giant Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes.
Germany had previously stopped short of blaming Russia but called the incident part of a hybrid war being waged on Europe. Relations between Russia and the West collapsed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed reports in German media that the government would blame Russia and could prepare new sanctions. They did not disclose details of the proposed sanctions.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stopped short of fully confirming the reports on Tuesday during a visit to Algeria but signalled new measures against Russia were being contemplated. When he returns to Germany later on Tuesday he is due to hold a press conference alongside Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
“There is no overreaction on our part, but there is a response when we are attacked,” Wadephul said. “Russia must understand that Germany is a stabilizing force in Europe — one that is always ready to negotiate but will not be intimidated in any way.”
The Russian embassy had no immediate comment, but it has previously dismissed accusations about its possible involvement as a “fabricated provocation” and as “a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany”.
European intelligence officials have long monitored what they describe as Russian sabotage incidents in Europe aimed at weakening NATO’s unity and its member states’ willingness to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the German chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, called for Russia to be clearly identified as the mastermind behind the attempted attack.
“I believe we need to call a spade a spade and acknowledge that Russia is behind this,” she said on Tuesday.
She argued that the focus should shift away from describing such incidents as “hybrid attacks”, as these constitute “actual attacks.”
(Reporting by Markus Wacket, Alexander Ratz, Andreas Rinke, Ludwig BurgerWriting by Matthias WilliamsEditing by Thomas Seythal and Peter Graff)
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