Suspect in Leipzig airport sabotage reportedly linked to Russian military intelligence

German investigators have identified two suspects in the sabotage attempt at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where a drone fitted with a detonator was found near a Ukrainian transport aircraft in early August. The suspects are Russian national Oleg L. and Belarusian national Andrei K., according to a report by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. One of them, Oleg L., has ties to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, and was responsible for preparing the operation and handling its logistics.

German law enforcement officials investigating the attempted attack traced the operation to Russia’s GRU, with Welt am Sonntag citing investigative files obtained by the newspaper. Those materials indicate that Oleg L. appears to have overseen preparations and logistics for the operation. German security agencies believe he is a GRU officer.

The newspaper said Oleg L. entered Germany from Turkey through Berlin Brandenburg Airport. He later left the country from the same airport, flying to Serbia. Investigators believe he is now in Russia.

Welt am Sonntag also reported that German security agencies already knew of Oleg L.’s possible ties to Russian military intelligence when he entered the country, but did not place him under surveillance.

The suspected perpetrators planned to use three drones in the Leipzig airport sabotage operation. Two were destroyed during takeoff, while the third reached the Ukrainian aircraft. Investigators believe an explosion was avoided only because the detonator failed to function.

The second suspect is Belarusian national Andrei K. His DNA was found on an antenna that was used to control the drones. The DNA matched records in Finnish and Lithuanian police databases.

In Finland, he had been suspected of theft. He is also suspected of setting fire to a hardware store in the Polish city of Łódź in 2024.

The German publication Bild previously reported that a DNA trace found during the investigation of the Leipzig airport attack case matched DNA evidence from a 2024 arson attack on a DHL logistics center in Leipzig. The newspaper did not say whose DNA was found.

On Sept. 1, the German government formally accused Russia of carrying out a hybrid attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where a drone with a detonator had been found near a Ukrainian transport plane on Aug. 5. At a news conference, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany would respond by closing the Russian House cultural center in Berlin and Russia’s consulate general in Bonn.

Russia, in turn, withdrew its consent for Germany’s consulate general in St. Petersburg to operate and shut down the country’s Goethe-Institut cultural centers nationwide.