Summary: A cluster of media outlets reported that a Ukrainian cargo aircraft located near an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle airport was loaded with military ammunition. Forensic analysis of the drone found the attached explosives to be of a high military grade, according to a joint media report citing a confidential police document. Authorities say the incidents have prompted an expanded counterterrorism inquiry at an airport designated as critical infrastructure.
According to the joint report from outlets including Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR, forensic experts determined that the explosives attached to the drone met a high military standard. The finding was described in a confidential police report referenced by those media organizations.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the drone episode as a hybrid attack and warned of an elevated level of danger late on Wednesday. The minister's remarks followed the discovery and the subsequent reporting about the cargo jet's load.
Local police in Saxony, the state that includes Leipzig/Halle, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the media reports that a Ukrainian aircraft at the airport was carrying military ammunition.
Ongoing searches and related damage
Separately, German authorities said they continued searching for debris from an unidentified object that damaged another freight aircraft mid-air near Leipzig airport on the same night the drone was found. That damaged cargo jet was performing a go-around after one of the airport runways had been closed. The aircraft suffered light damage in the collision and later diverted to land in Hanover in northern Germany.
Earlier reports noted the drone was discovered close to several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 freighters, among the largest cargo aircraft in the world. The proximity of the drone to those freighters was cited in earlier media coverage of the incident.
Operational disruptions
Late on Tuesday flights were suspended at Leipzig/Halle and several aircraft were diverted. Some of the diverted aircraft included planes operated by the German logistics group referenced in market data as DHLn. A spokesperson for Leipzig/Halle airport, which is also used by airlines and logistics companies such as Lufthansa Cargo and Amazon.com, said on Thursday that airport operations had returned to normal and that no additional security measures had been implemented.
Attribution and diplomatic response
German authorities have said the perpetrators of the incidents have not yet been identified. Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker and member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, publicly placed blame on Russia. The Russian Embassy in Berlin did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The combination of a reportedly ammunition-laden cargo aircraft, high-grade explosives found on a drone, and damage to a separate freight jet has expanded the scope of the counterterrorism investigation at a facility the German government classifies as critical infrastructure.