Merz on the Explosive-Carrying Drone in Leipzig: The Situation Is Very Serious

Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not currently wish to make a definitive statement regarding Russian involvement in connection with the explosive-laden drone at Leipzig Airport. “We will definitively determine who is responsible in the next few days, and then there will be a corresponding response very soon,” said the CDU leader on the program “RTL Aktuell Spezial,” hosted by Pinar Atalay. Merz emphasized that the situation is “very serious,” referring to the threat posed by drones loaded with explosives.

On Tuesday, during the cabinet retreat at Neuhardenberg Castle in Brandenburg, Merz announced that the federal government intends to comment shortly on findings regarding the perpetrators of the incident involving an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport earlier this month. At the same time, he said that those responsible for hybrid attacks “will pay for this.” Merz did not answer Atalay’s question about how this would happen. 

Merz: “We can investigate this; we’re relatively far along”

The findings regarding who was behind the drone incident will be shared “as soon as we have finalized them,” Merz said. The Federal Prosecutor General is conducting an investigation, and the security agencies are carrying out extensive inquiries. “As soon as these are sufficiently concluded that we can rely on them as confirmed facts, we will make that known. And it won’t be long now,” Merz said.

Among other things, the perpetrator of the Leipzig incident has not clearly identified themselves. “We have to determine that. We can determine it; we’re relatively far along. And then we’ll have to respond accordingly,” Merz emphasized.

What makes the current situation unique, he said, is that we’re not experiencing a war in the traditional sense or a military attack, “but rather a form of hybrid warfare—even here in Germany,” Merz said. “It’s not an army of tanks rolling toward Germany, but rather drones that can also carry explosives.” Work is underway to protect against this.

The explosive-carrying drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport was discovered on the evening of August 4 in the security area among Ukrainian cargo planes. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office described it as a “serious attack on Germany’s transportation and logistics infrastructure.”