Following the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) conducted further sweeps for evidence over the weekend, specifically focusing on the Saalekreis region in Saxony-Anhalt. According to the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung”, a large police presence was mobilized in the municipality of Kabelsketal. Emergency services searched a large field in the Großkugel area at the end of Friday and throughout Saturday for potential clues, as a wide area was cordoned off, possibly marking the crime scene. Großkugel is located approximately two kilometers from the airport perimeter, which stretches up to about six kilometers in its longest dimension.
The sequence of events took place between the evenings of August 4th and the early mornings of August 5th. During this period, there were two separate incidents involving unmanned aerial vehicles at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Initially, a drone loaded with explosives was discovered on airport grounds near a Ukrainian cargo plane, which resulted in the airport being closed for several hours. The second incident occurred when a Boeing 757-23N, having attempted a landing during the airport closure, took off and subsequently collided with a second drone.
Alexander Dobrindt, the Federal Interior Minister (CSU), stated afterward that the attack was carried out by professionals, likely commissioned by “foreign powers.” Later, on August 7th, US intelligence officials told US media that they suspected Russia was behind the attack.
