Berlin (AFP) – German police raised the alarm at an airport overnight after an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and another aircraft collided with an unknown flying object mid-air nearby before landing safely.
Issued on: 05/08/2026 - 13:14Modified: 05/08/2026 - 15:08
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All flights to Leipzig-Halle airport were diverted for several hours from around midnight as a police bomb disposal robot was deployed to remove the detonator from the unmanned aerial vehicle found on the tarmac.The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods, including by the German military and NATO allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.Video footage from a local news agency showed the bomb disposal robot near an Antonov plane painted with the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag and the words "Be Brave Like Kherson" written on the side, a reference to a Ukrainian region battered by Russian strikes.Ukraine's ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev voiced suspicion Wednesday that Moscow was behind the incident, telling Welt TV: "Who else could it be but Russia?"Authorities have not yet provided evidence of Russia's involvement and there was no immediate comment from Moscow.German police first reported on Wednesday morning that a "security-related incident" had temporarily halted flights to the airport, also a major hub for logistics company DHL."Shortly before midnight, an unidentified flying object was sighted near Leipzig-Halle Airport, prompting the diversion of several aircraft -- including a passenger plane -- to other airports", they said in an initial statement."In addition, an object was detected near the southern runway, which was initially examined by the federal police, a process that involved the deployment of an explosives disposal robot," police said.Police and prosecutors later confirmed that the UAV was fitted with an explosive device and that a federal police unit using a robot "removed the detonator from the explosive attachment".
