Politico: Germany officially finds Russia guilty in drone incident near Ukrainian plane

Germany is preparing to officially accuse Russia of the incident with a drone with explosives near a Ukrainian An-124 aircraft at Leipzig Airport on August 4.

Politico writes about this, citing sources.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing to formally accuse Russia of the incident and impose sanctions on Russian organizations next week. According to sources, a meeting of EU foreign ministers is scheduled for September 1 in Ireland, but Merz may press charges earlier.

One source claims that "it is no longer enough to expel Russian diplomats or close the "Russian House" in Berlin" — tougher action is needed, including tightening sanctions or increasing arms supplies to Ukraine.

What happened at Leipzig Airport?

On the night of August 4, a drone with a detonator and explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig Airport. After that, German media wrote that the An-124 could have been transporting ammunition for Ukraine.

On August 7, the German Interior Ministry denied this. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that no one was injured and the Antonov aircraft were not damaged.

On August 10, media reported that a drone carrying explosives crashed into a Ukrainian plane but failed to detonate for unknown reasons. The explosives likely became detached during the impact and ended up nearby. The drone itself was accidentally discovered about four hours later.

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