Germany Blames Russia for Leipzig/Halle Airport Drone Incident Following Foreign Intelligence Tip

BERLIN, September 3. /TASS/. Germany decided to blame Russia for last month’s drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport after it received information from a foreign special service, Der Spiegel reported, citing sources.

"The Chancellor’s office was wondering if the government should hold off on placing the blame on Russia until the investigation is over so the attribution of guilt can be as legally flawless as possible. It could have lasted months or perhaps years. <…> Back in the first half of August, a foreign special service approached Berlin with a sensational tip," the magazine wrote.

According to it, the special services in a foreign country told German authorities that those implicated in the incident could have ties with the Russian special services. "The tip from abroad was a 'breakthrough,'" sources told Der Spiegel. "[Chancellor Friedrich] Merz and [Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander] Dobrindt concluded that the blame could soon be assigned to Moscow," the article reads.

On September 1, the German government decided to terminate the agreement on the operation of the Russian House in Berlin over an early August drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Earlier, Germany formally accused Russia of the drone’s fall. The Russian embassy in Berlin criticized the incident as a "hastily concocted provocation," saying it "serves exclusively the goals of Kiev and the militaristic wing of the European political class."