German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned on Sunday that Germany is a daily target of hybrid warfare, citing espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, and covert operations by foreign powers, following the discovery of a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian transport plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport and the separate detection of two drones over a Bundeswehr base in western Germany.
Germany's interior minister says country faces daily hybrid warfare threats after drone incidents
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned on Sunday that Germany is a daily target of hybrid warfare, citing espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, and covert operations by foreign powers, following the discovery of a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian transport plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport and the separate detection of two drones over a Bundeswehr base in western Germany.
Dobrindt made the remarks in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, stating that while Germany is not at war, it faces a constant reality of hybrid threats aimed at destabilizing the country or causing direct harm.
He announced that a new drone security research center will be established in August at a German Aerospace Center (DLR) test airport in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, describing it as part of efforts to address new security threats posed by drones.
Germany's armed forces confirmed on Saturday that two drones had been spotted late Thursday evening, at around 10 p.m. local time, over a Bundeswehr base in Mechernich in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, near the Belgian border. German media reported that the base hosts personnel responsible for maintaining US Patriot air defense systems used in Ukraine's defense against Russian aerial attacks.
The Mechernich sighting came two days after the Leipzig/Halle Airport drone discovery, which Dobrindt described as a 'hybrid attack scenario.' German government officials have not publicly attributed the Leipzig incident to any foreign country, though some lawmakers have pointed to Russia, which has been engaged in a full-scale war against Ukraine since 2022.
The Russian Embassy in Berlin responded on Friday, characterizing the Leipzig incident as a 'fabricated provocation' and stating that Russia was again being accused of hostile actions without any evidence being presented.
- The source does not identify which specific lawmakers accused Russia or their party affiliations.
- The source does not detail the type, origin, or technical characteristics of the explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
- The source does not specify what investigation, if any, is underway into either drone incident or who is conducting it.
- The source does not clarify whether the drones spotted over the Mechernich base were identified, intercepted, or traced to any origin.
- No response from Ukrainian authorities regarding the Leipzig airport incident is included.
Read the original at Deutsche Welle