Russia says explosive drone at German airport 'contrived provocation'

The Russian embassy in Berlin on Friday said an incident involving an explosive-laden drone at a key German airport was a "contrived provocation" designed to be blamed on Moscow.

The embassy said on its website it was "obvious" the incident at the eastern Leipzig-Halle airport "serves only the interests of Kyiv and the militarist wing of the European political establishment".

The explosive-equipped drone was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo plane in the early hours of Wednesday, while another aircraft collided in mid-air with an unidentified object.

The airport serves as a base for Ukraine's Antonov Airlines, as well as an important hub for military and logistics transports including military cargo for the German armed forces and NATO allies.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened a national security council meeting on Friday to address the incident, which has raised renewed alarm in the country over potential security vulnerabilities.

The Russian embassy in Berlin said it was concerned over "a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany".

German officials have not accused Russia or any other specific actor of being responsible for the drone, but Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described it as "a hybrid attack" that may have involved a "foreign power".

Germany is among Ukraine's most prominent supporters after Russia's 2022 invasion and German leaders and security officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of waging a campaign of sabotage, espionage and disinformation in Germany and across Europe.

The "main danger facing Germany today is not the supposed 'hybrid attacks' from Moscow, which do not exist, but rather politicians who are enthusiastically developing scenarios for an imminent war with Russia and proposing that German citizens take part in it," the Russian embassy said.