Germany prepares to blame Russia and impose sanctions after an explosive drone was found at Leipzig Halle Airport
Germany's government is preparing to formally attribute an explosive drone found near Leipzig Halle Airport to Russia and impose sanctions, per joint reporting by Politico and Welt am Sonntag. Berlin says no formal attribution has been made yet.
An explosive-equipped drone was discovered near Leipzig Halle Airport on Aug. 4, followed by a second drone that forced a DHL cargo plane to abort its landing, and a third drone found nearby with roughly 50 grams of a substance thought to be RDX, also known as Hexogen, according to EU Today's reporting citing ARD's Tagesschau. U.S. intelligence assessed on Aug. 26 that the drone showed signs of being produced by Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, per the Kyiv Independent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government is now preparing to formally blame Russia and announce sanctions, possibly alongside more arms for Ukraine, ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting in Ireland around Sept. 1-2, according to joint reporting by Politico and Welt am Sonntag. Germany's Chancellery stresses that no formal attribution has been made yet, pending the investigation's findings.