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Ukraine is ready to help Germany with expertise, experience, and other assistance over an alleged Russian drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
"Friedrich (Merz) briefed me on the measures taken. For my part, I assured him that Ukraine is ready to help–with expertise, experience, or in other areas where Germany may need it," Zelenskyy wrote on X, after a meeting with the German Chancellor.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, pledged further sanctions against Russia and said the European Union was prepared to close loopholes that Moscow exploits.
"We will not tolerate it. We stand in full solidarity with Germany," she said during a joint press conference held with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels on Wednesday.
The remarks came after Germany on Tuesday blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at the airport last month. German authorities said a drone carrying explosives and a detonator was found Aug. 4 near an area where Ukrainian cargo aircraft operate.
German media also reported that authorities had identified two Russian men allegedly linked to the planned sabotage.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is a major freight hub and NATO logistics point that also hosts several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that Russia was becoming "increasingly reckless," citing a rise in drones and missiles crossing allied airspace along NATO’s eastern flank, as well as alleged Russian activities targeting NATO territory.
"We have seen more drones and missiles crossing into our airspace along our eastern flank, creating increased risk," Rutte said during the joint news conference in Brussels.
Separately, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the alleged plot as "state-sponsored terrorism" and said she had summoned Russia’s envoy in Brussels.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the Leipzig incident as a "hybrid attack scenario" that represented "a new level of danger."
"The incident and the technology did not point ‘to an amateurish approach. We are dealing here with a professional hybrid threat scenario," Dobrindt told journalists at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where police found, defused and later destroyed the drone.
German officials said investigators had determined that Russian intelligence services planned the operation and that low-level operatives carried it out. Berlin also said the method and organization resembled previous Russian hybrid operations.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Germany of planting evidence to blame Moscow for the attempted attack, while the Russian Embassy in Berlin called the allegation "absurd."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Moscow would respond in a "mirror-image" manner to Germany’s measures.
Hours after the EU summoned the Russian envoy, Russia also summoned Germany’s charge d’affaires to protest "anti-Russian actions."
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