A NATO official on Wednesday rejected a Russian claim that the alliance is casting doubt on German findings regarding a drone found packed with explosives at Leipzig’s airport.
“The claim by the Russian Intelligence Service that NATO found no evidence of Russian involvement in the drone incident in Leipzig is absurd,” the official told dpa.
NATO intelligence experts, like their German counterparts, had concluded that Russia was behind the hybrid attack on August 4, he said.
“Russia has a proven track record of trying to destabilize allied countries and attempting to dissuade us from supporting Ukraine,” the official said. He described Russia’s actions as reckless and dangerous and said NATO would not be deterred from continuing to support Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier claimed in a message posted on X that NATO intelligence had found no evidence of Russian involvement in the Leipzig incident and that the information pointed instead to a “Ukrainian link.” It cited Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
Berlin was nevertheless blaming Russia, the statement claimed, in order to justify massive spending on militarization in 2027.
The drone, which had been fitted with explosives, was discovered on the evening of August 4 in the secure area of Leipzig/Halle Airport, near a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft. The German government believes the incident to have been an attempted Russian attack.