Explosive-laden drone near Ukrainian aircraft: Germany says incident marks new hybrid threat scenario
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has said that a drone carrying explosives found near a Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig/Halle airport represents "a new level of danger" for Germany and is being treated as "a professional hybrid threat scenario".
Source: European Pravda, citing DW, a German international broadcaster and media outlet
Details: Dobrindt was speaking to journalists at Leipzig/Halle airport after cutting short his summer holiday to return to Germany and deal with the incident.
He said those responsible for the incident would need to possess a high level of technical expertise and experience in handling explosives. This, he said, rules out "an amateurish approach".
"We are dealing here with a professional hybrid threat scenario," he added.
The minister said that the discovery of an armed drone at a German airport represents a new type of threat.
"Drone sightings, drone threats including in a hybrid context, are something we know from the past," Dobrindt said. "That a drone armed with explosives is at an airport is a new threat scenario," he added.
"All the speculation that is currently going on about the explosives, the construction, the question of the drone, the origin and, of course, who is behind it, is now part of the investigation," Dobrindt said.
The interior minister added: "It would be short-sighted to believe that this form of threat, which objectively exists, can be combatted or countered with simple measures."
"We are dealing with a competition here which may also include foreign powers. This will be part of the investigations," he added.
In June, Dobrindt established the Joint Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats, as Germany has been on heightened alert for espionage, sabotage and disinformation, particularly from Russia.
"What is happening now also shows that the assessment made months ago – that we are dealing with a high level of danger – was justified," Dobrindt added.
Background:
- Media outlets reported earlier that a drone equipped with explosives and a detonator was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft at a German airport on the night of 4-5 August. Die Zeit reported that the aircraft was an Antonov cargo plane, believed to belong to Ukraine's Air Force.
- NATO told European Pravda that it had been informed about the incident.
- German police deployed a bomb disposal robot to recover the drone.
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