Germany wants to gain experience from Ukraine in combating Russian hybrid attacks

Germany wants to gain experience from Ukraine in combating Russian hybrid attacks, after a series of incidents with drones and sabotage against infrastructure.

BILD writes about this.

Baden-Württemberg has agreed with Kyiv to exchange information on espionage, drones and cybercrime starting next week. The National Security Council of Ukraine will visit Stuttgart in a few weeks.

Separately, German police officers will train in Kyiv. They will practice countering drone attacks together with Ukrainian specialists who simulate such attacks. For this, the National Police of Ukraine and the Baden-Württemberg police have concluded a separate agreement.

Germany has increased its focus on hybrid attacks in recent months after a series of drone incidents, sabotage and cyberattacks. In particular, the German government has accused Russia of attempting to attack Leipzig/Halle airport with an explosives-laden drone.

Separately, Germany is expanding its capabilities to counter drones and cyberattacks. In June 2026, the country created a joint center for combating hybrid threats, which is supposed to detect and counter espionage, sabotage, disinformation, and cyberattacks.

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. 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, the 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 only about four hours later.

On September 1, Germany officially accused Russia of the incident. As a result, Berlin terminated its contract with the Russian House, tightened controls over Russians entering the country, and closed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn.

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