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German police uncovered a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig-Halle Airport overnight, while a separate DHL cargo plane collided with an unidentified flying object shortly before landing, authorities said Wednesday, prompting a temporary shutdown of the airport and renewed warnings from officials about escalating "hybrid" threats linked to Russia.
All flights to the airport in eastern Germany were diverted for several hours starting around midnight after the objects were detected, police said.
A bomb-disposal robot was deployed to remove the detonator from the explosive device attached to the drone found near the runway.
Police first described the disruption as a "security-related incident" that temporarily halted flights to the airport, which also serves as a major hub for logistics company DHL.
According to police, an unidentified flying object was spotted near the airport shortly before midnight, prompting several aircraft, including a passenger plane, to be diverted elsewhere.
A separate object was then detected near the southern runway and examined by federal police using an explosives disposal robot, which succeeded in removing the detonator from the explosive attachment.
A second incident involved a DHL cargo plane that aborted its landing after the alert was raised, then struck an unknown object in midair roughly four miles from the airport at an altitude of about 1,300 feet, according to German tabloid Bild.
Police confirmed that a suspected second unidentified flying object collided with the cargo aircraft, causing minor damage that was discovered after the plane landed safely in Hanover.
Regular traffic resumed at Leipzig-Halle in the early hours of Wednesday, though only on the northern runway, as investigators continued examining the southern runway for evidence.
Video footage from a local news agency showed the bomb disposal robot operating near an Antonov Airlines plane bearing Ukraine's blue and yellow colors and marked with the words "Be Brave Like Kherson," a reference to the Ukrainian region that has faced repeated Russian strikes.
Leipzig-Halle plays a significant role in transporting military supplies for the German armed forces and NATO allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, blamed Moscow for the incident.
"Who else could it be but Russia?" he said on Welt TV. He also drew a link to a previous episode at the same airport, saying "Russia has long been waging this hybrid war," and adding that the term "somehow downplays the fact that Russia is waging war not only against Ukraine but also against Europe."
Russian officials had not commented on the allegations as of Wednesday, and German authorities said their investigation into the incident was ongoing.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the episode marked "a new level of danger," following earlier sightings of drones believed to be conducting surveillance or intended to sow fear.
He said the incident and the technology involved did not suggest "an amateurish approach," adding: "We are dealing here with a professional hybrid threat scenario."
Dobrindt said questions surrounding the explosives, the drone's construction and origin, and who was responsible would now form part of the formal investigation.
He described Germany as engaged in an ongoing contest against hybrid threats, calling it "a competition ... which may also include foreign powers," and said that dimension would also be examined.
Germany and other European countries have repeatedly reported drone sightings over sensitive sites, including airports, military installations and industrial facilities, in recent years.
German authorities, who count among Ukraine's largest military backers, have said they suspect Russia of orchestrating a number of these episodes as part of a broader campaign involving sabotage, espionage and disinformation. Russia has denied involvement in such incidents.
Leipzig-Halle has been the site of previous security concerns. In July 2024, a parcel caught fire on the ground at the airport before it could be loaded onto a DHL cargo plane, an episode security services treated as a suspected Russian-linked arson and sabotage attempt. Separately, a Chinese national was convicted last year of passing information about flight schedules and cargo movements at the airport to an individual spying on behalf of Beijing.
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