German investigators have uncovered new details about the attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian transport plane at Leipzig airport, while the main traces lead directly to Serbia, writes the German weekly Spiegel, referring to sources from security circles.
One of the suspects in the Leipzig attack is linked to a person arrested in Serbia in June for possession of explosives. According to Spiegel, Serbian police stopped two vehicles traveling to the European Union near the Hungarian border on June 11. They were carrying Danilo B., a Serbian-Russian citizen, and Serbian citizen Slobodan D.
Police found parts of a modified drone and control equipment in the first vehicle, while in the second vehicle, in a hidden compartment, they discovered cans filled with explosives.
Both have been in custody since June. German authorities are now investigating their direct connection to the suspects in the Leipzig operation – a Belarusian national and a person with dual Russian and Latvian citizenship.
Investigators have also reconstructed the suspects’ movements and discovered that one of them, after the operation, escaped to Russia via Serbia and Istanbul.
Due to these developments, European intelligence services consider Serbia a “hot spot” for Russian sabotage throughout Europe, claiming that Russian services there recruit and train operatives for field actions.
Investigators were immediately struck by the identical method of preparing the device. In Leipzig, around 600 grams of the highly powerful plastic explosive Semtex was placed in a metal box attached to the drone, in the same way as the explosives seized at the Serbian border.
The attack on Leipzig took place on August 4th and only thanks to chance circumstances was a catastrophe avoided.
A drone equipped with explosives flew towards Ukrainian Antonov transport planes parked at the airport and hit the wing of one of the planes. However, the explosive device did not detonate due to a defect in the detonator.
The plane that was hit had full fuel tanks, while just the day before it had transported military aid and ammunition to Ukraine.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is an important logistical hub for NATO operations and the transport of weapons to Ukraine.
Investigators have determined that the downed drone was significantly modified. It had an additional battery to increase its flight range, a camera, a 5G router and two SIM cards. The drone had no external lights and could be controlled remotely via a cellular network.
A special antenna used to amplify the signal was also found in a tree near the scene.
A turning point in the investigation was DNA traces found on the drone, the antenna, and the metal box containing the Semtex. These traces were matched against databases in Lithuania and Finland.
One of the suspects is also linked to a previous sabotage in the Polish city of Łódź, where a large building materials store, Leroy Merlin, was set on fire in July 2024. It was initially thought that the fire was caused by insecticides, but Polish prosecutors later proved that it was an act of Russian sabotage.
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According to estimates by various European intelligence services, at least four networks of saboteurs under the direct control of Moscow are currently operating in the territory of the European Union.
Police are also investigating whether other drones were involved in the Leipzig operation. That same night, a DHL transport plane was hit by an unidentified flying object while landing.
Because of the whole incident, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt publicly stated that Russian state structures were directly behind the attack.
Berlin, in response, ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the expulsion of the staff, and severed the agreement with the Russian House in Berlin.
Moscow reacted by claiming that this was a staged trial and a provocation, while closing the German Goethe-Institut and the consulate in St. Petersburg. /Telegraph/