The explosive-laden drone discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport on Aug. 5 was likely deployed by the Russian government. According to The Wall Street Journal, Western intelligence increasingly views the Leipzig incident not as an isolated event, but as part of a broader, Moscow-directed campaign of hybrid warfare and sabotage designed to probe NATO’s resolve and defenses.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. US and European leaders are noting a growing pattern of Russian reconnaissance and harassment operations, which have included drone and missile incursions into Poland and Romania. According to a report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies cited by the WSJ, suspicious drones have been spotted at least 144 times across 13 European countries between August 2024 and February 2026. The suspected Russian involvement at the Leipzig airport aligns with recent US intelligence assessments suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning a limited attack – ranging from a cyberoffensive to a small-scale ground incursion – against a NATO country in the coming years. This heightened threat assessment comes amid growing concerns in Washington regarding the depletion of US weapons stockpiles, which have been drawn down heavily by arms transfers to Ukraine and recent expenditures related to the conflict with Iran. The August 5 drone incident The intelligence assessments follow a major security breach at Leipzig-Halle, a critical logistics hub for DHL, the German armed forces, NATO allies, and Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines.