German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened the national security council Friday to discuss the discovery of an explosive-laden drone near a Ukrainian cargo plane, and the mid-air collision of another aircraft with an unidentified object this week.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called the incident at Leipzig-Halle airport -- a strategic hub for military and logistics transports -- in the early hours of Wednesday "a hybrid attack" that spelled "a new level of danger".
Berlin has not pointed the finger of blame, but Dobrindt said a "foreign power" may have been involved in the incident that follows a campaign of sabotage, espionage and disinformation that security services blame on Russia.
The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods by the German armed forces and NATO allies. It also serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.
According to the Bild daily an airport employee saw the drone hovering near the Ukrainian plane and brought it to the ground until police arrived.
