German minister warns of daily 'hybrid warfare' after suspected drone attack

Germany faces hybrid attacks from abroad every day, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrint said, following a suspected attempted attack with an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

Dobrint told the newspaper "Bild am Sonntag" that foreign powers want to politically and socially weaken Germany by spreading fear.

"We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare," Dobrint said. "Epionage, sabotage, cyberattacks or covert operations by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing Germany or causing direct damage are a constant reality."

The interview announcement published by the newspaper did not state whether Dobrint named any specific country, Reuters reports.

After a drone carrying explosives was discovered at an airport in eastern Germany on Tuesday, some German lawmakers accused Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine since the start of its military invasion in 2022.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin on Friday dismissed the Leipzig incident as a "fabricated provocation," saying it was another example of accusations against Russia without evidence.

Dobrint, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union, previously called the Leipzig incident a "hybrid attack scenario" and did not rule out the possible involvement of foreign powers.

The German armed forces said on Saturday that two drones were spotted late Thursday evening above the location of a German military base in Mechernich, in the western federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Dobrint also highlighted the expansion of drone research in Germany as part of the response to new threats.