Investigation: Russian biker linked to GRU behind attempted attack on Ukrainian plane in Leipzig

Russian biker Oleg Lyovushkin may be involved in the attack on a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig Airport (Germany).

This is stated in a joint investigation by The Telegraph and Welt am Sonntag.

Secret intelligence documents from Germany, Lithuania and Poland, as well as interviews with senior Western intelligence officials, suggest that Lyovushkin and a “one-time agent” traveled to Germany to carry out a sabotage attack. German investigators suspect that Lyovushkin planned the attack and then assigned Belarusian agent Andrey Karshakov to carry out the plan.

According to German intelligence, Levushkin traveled to Germany via Turkey. A week before the attack, he rented a car at Berlin airport and over the following days drove it to several suspected weapons caches.

Investigators believe that the explosives used in the operation — 1.8 kg of Semtex — were brought to Germany via Bulgaria and Serbia, hidden in the cavities of trucks and possibly temporarily stored along the route.

According to a German intelligence report, before the attempted attack, Lyovushkin conducted reconnaissance at Leipzig Airport.

Lyovushkinʼs connection with the Russian GRU

Evidence analyzed by The Telegraph and Welt am Sonntag shows striking similarities between the Leipzig attack and an exposed Russian sabotage scheme using drones and explosives against targets in Poland, Lithuania and Germany. The explosive device found in Leipzig is very similar to bombs used in other Russian sabotage operations across Europe.

According to media reports, Levushkin — a Russian passport holder and motorcycle enthusiast — has been in contact for years with Denis Smolyaninov, who is believed to be the main organizer of bombings in Europe on behalf of Russia.

Last year, the British Foreign Office imposed sanctions on him. According to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, they met in 2007, when Smolyaninov was acting as a mediator in a financial dispute related to Levushkinʼs business.

A Lithuanian intelligence report from December 2025, obtained by The Telegraph, says Smolyaninov heads the Ukrainian branch of GRU, Russiaʼs military intelligence agency. He specializes in psychological operations and is linked to covert sabotage campaigns organized in Europe via the Telegram social network.

The attack in Leipzig has been linked to a GRU sabotage unit, Unit 29155, which German intelligence officials say is the main driving force behind these operations, organized on the orders of the Kremlin.

German intelligence services believe that Russia wants Europeans to begin to perceive support for Ukraine as risky, hoping thus to influence public debate and undermine support for Kyiv.

What preceded

On August 5, a drone with explosives and a detonator was found near a Ukrainian plane at the airport in Leipzig (Germany). Police believe that the drone could have been shot down by a bus driver who was conducting a business tour of the airport. Another version is that the driver found the drone already on the ground and simply flipped it over.

Leipzig Airport is used for weapons cargo transportation. At the time, German police classified the incident as a state security offense. They do not rule out sabotage.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that no one was injured in the incident, and the Antonov aircraft were not damaged.

On August 7, the German Interior Ministry denied that the Ukrainian plane had military ammunition. German media reported on the presence of weapons.

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