Germany fingers Moscow for airport drone, shuts two Russian bodies

The German government believes that the failed attack with an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig airport last month was carried out on behalf of Russia, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday, with the government in Berlin shuttering two Russian bodies in response.

Dobrindt told reporters in Berlin that police investigations, patterns of criminal activity and intelligence findings point to Russian responsibility for the attempted attack on the airport.

The minister said the technology found at the scene and the interplay of individual elements had to be described as professional, and indicated a high degree of technical expertise and considerable organizational effort in the planning and execution of the attack.

"The final execution of the attempted attack can be attributed to the area of low-level agents," he said, adding: "Let me make this clear: We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare."

The Russian consulate general in Bonn is to be closed on September 18, and the lease for the Russian House, a Russian cultural institution in the heart of Berlin, will be terminated, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.

Speculation had been rife for weeks that Moscow might be behind the August 4 incident, but Berlin has taken until now to officially identify a suspect, citing lengthy negotiations.

A drone fitted with explosives and a detonation mechanism was discovered on the evening of August 4 in the security zone of Leipzig/Halle Airport, between Ukrainian cargo aircraft, prompting a temporary halt to flights.