Explosive drone spotted near Ukrainian cargo plane at German airport
An explosive-laden drone was observed hovering near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, prompting a lawmaker to blame Russia and drawing attention to a wider pattern of drone incursions across Europe.
German authorities are investigating an incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport in which an explosive-laden drone was observed hovering near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. The airport is a major air freight hub that regularly handles shipments for NATO and the German military, and it serves as the base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines, operator of the world’s largest operational cargo aircraft, the An-124.
The episode prompted Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the German parliament’s intelligence committee, to explicitly blame Russia and describe the incident as an attempted act of terrorism. Meanwhile, Alexander Sosnowski, a pro-Kremlin propagandist who appears on Russian state television, posted a short video on Telegram in which he seemed to assume the operation was Russian and expressed disappointment that it failed, according to the German tabloid Bild.
The episode adds to a string of drone incidents across Europe since 2024. Dozens of drones have been sighted over airports, military bases, ports, energy and industrial facilities. In May, Munich Airport was closed twice within 24 hours after possible drone sightings. Incursions have become more common in Northern and Eastern Europe because of proximity to Russia and the war in Ukraine. Fighter jets have been scrambled repeatedly; in Romania, a Russian drone crash caused a building fire and injuries.
The European Drone Defence Initiative, a long-promised project meant to create a “drone wall” for surveillance and counter-drone defences, has yet to take meaningful shape, according to Ulrike Franke, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Instead, countries such as Poland are building their own national counter-drone systems.
Germany has provided about $118 billion in support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, according to Deutsche Welle. It has also trained more than 24,000 Ukrainian soldiers and is hosting over one million Ukrainian refugees. Recent cooperation includes joint production of new military drones, with a reported $100 million deal, reportedly funded by Germany, equipping Ukrainian forces with drones capable of artificial intelligence target tracking.
