Drone Carrying Explosives Found at German Airport

Police in Germany have found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport in the east of the country. An airport worker spotted the device overnight near Ukrainian cargo planes, and a robot was sent in to inspect it. A second object also hit a cargo plane near the airport and landed in Hanover, causing minor damage.

Police removed the detonator and later set off a controlled explosion. One runway reopened just before 2am, but the other stayed closed. The airport is used by the German military and NATO allies to move military goods, and it is a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines, which carries most of the country’s air cargo. It is also a major hub for the delivery company DHL.

Germany’s interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said the incident showed a “new level of threat.” He described it as a professional, hybrid attack and hinted that foreign powers might be involved, though he named no suspects. Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany pointed directly at Russia. Moscow has not commented, and it has denied involvement in past incidents.

German airports have been on high alert after several unauthorised drone flights in recent months over military bases, airports, energy sites, and ports. A security expert said the “drone war” has now reached Germany, exposing a weakness the country has known about for years.

The airport has been targeted before. In July 2024, a parcel caught fire there before it could be loaded onto a DHL plane — one of several parcel fires across the UK and EU that authorities suspect were sabotage linked to Moscow. Those parcels held explosives hidden in massage pillows and set off by timers. Russia denied any role. Last year, a Chinese woman was also convicted of passing airport flight and cargo information to a man spying for Beijing.