Politico and Welt: Germany plans to blame Russia for the Leipzig airport sabotage attempt and announce new sanctions
In the coming days, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to accuse Russia of an attempted act of sabotage at Leipzig airport, where drones with explosives were found, Politico and the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag said, citing sources.
Merz is expected to announce new sanctions against Moscow. The package would combine direct German measures with new EU sanctions being prepared in parallel in Brussels, according to the two outlets.
Expelling individual Russian diplomats or closing the Russian House in Berlin is no longer an adequate response to the Leipzig drone incident, one source said. Tougher steps were needed, the source said — harsher sanctions or even more extensive arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Berlin has also begun preparing for a sharp response from Moscow, according to Politico.
Sources who spoke to Politico described Germany’s upcoming move as a ”Zeitenwende 2.0” — a second turning point, echoing the Zeitenwende, the term former Chancellor Olaf Scholz used after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when he announced an abrupt overhaul of Berlin’s relations with Moscow.
On August 25, Merz said those behind the attempted sabotage in Leipzig would be held accountable, though he leveled no specific accusations. He promised to say more about the investigation’s findings soon. The government had been working with intelligence agencies on “intensive” efforts to identify those responsible, he said.
A drone of unknown origin was found at Leipzig airport overnight into August 5, German media said. It later emerged that multiple drones had been involved in the attempted sabotage. The first drone, discovered beside a Ukrainian Antonov transport plane loaded with ammunition, had explosives and a detonator attached. A second drone apparently collided with a DHL cargo plane, which had to abort its landing and go around because the airport had closed. A third drone did not turn up until 10 days after the incident. Investigators found about 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of explosives nearby.
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