Explosive

The preliminary investigations have shown that, with high probability, a vehicle must have breached the fence.

— Leipzig Police Department, in a statement

The attack on the infrastructure in Jänschwalde is an attack on the security and livelihoods of the people in Brandenburg and beyond.

— Robert Crumbach, Brandenburg's Infrastructure Minister, said this about the incident

The federal government therefore concludes that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig on August 4.

— Alexander Dobrindt, CSU, Federal Minister of the Interior; press conference in Berlin on the Leipzig/Halle drone incident

You deserve a direct strike against all German production facilities for military technology.

— Dmitri Medvedev, former president of Russia and deputy chairman of the Security Council, in a Telegram post on September 2, 2026, regarding the Leipzig/Halle drone incident.

The federal government will make the authors of hybrid attacks pay a price — they will pay for it.

— Friedrich Merz, Chancellor, commenting on potential consequences after the attempted drone attack on Leipzig-Halle

Merz has lost the trust of the citizens, because he does not protect Germany’s national interests.

— Putin after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit

The perpetrators would pay for their deeds.

— Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor, on the announced consequences following the Leipzig drone attack.

What argues in favor of such a theory is that the official German authorities have so far expressly refrained from attributing blame to Moscow.

— Matthias Uhl, Russia and military expert; context: suggesting the attack could be staged as a false-flag operation to discredit Russia.

All of this does not point to amateurish conduct. We are dealing with a professional hybrid threat scenario that we must continue to address.

— Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) said this at a press conference at the Leipzig/Halle airport

Speculations are not investigation results.

— Bernd Rudolph, Saxon interior politician; warned against blaming Russia without evidence and urged investigators to consider whether it could be a False Flag Operation designed to discredit a side.

It is his assessment that we are dealing here with a hybrid attack scenario.

— Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister of the Interior (CSU), said at Leipzig/Halle airport that this represents a new threat landscape and a hybrid attack scenario.

So far, one of the investigative hypotheses had been that it might have been intended only as a kind of warning. Armed, yes, but not intended to actually explode. This hypothesis can now hardly be maintained.

— Military expert Carlo Masala; on X drew attention to the new findings and cited the report.

We absolutely must do something to detect these drone attacks very quickly and be able to shoot these drones down if necessary.

— Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, told the German press agency (dpa) that Germany must strengthen its drone defense, including rapid detection and, if needed, shooting down drones.

a new level of danger

— Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Interior Minister, spoke on Wednesday of 'a new level of danger'.

Germany should at least push for Article 4 consultations in NATO.

— Kiesewetter, CDU politician, calling for NATO Article 4 consultations after the discovery of the semtex-loaded drone at Leipzig/Halle airport (as reported by Augsburger Allgemeine).

Germany also needs such a security adviser. Not as an all-powerful shadow minister, but as a coordinator in the Chancellery who enjoys the trust of the Federal Chancellor and ensures on a daily basis that security policy is truly cross-government. For a brand-new body without a head, it is above all one thing: headless.

— Peter R. Neumann, guest contribution on ntv.de about Germany needing a security adviser

"in ongoing exchange"— Chancellor Friedrich Merz – quoted in the ntv.de article: Merz said he is in "in ongoing exchange" with Federal Minister Alexander Dobrindt and other members of the federal government regarding the Leipzig events.

A drone was in the vicinity of a transport aircraft of the Antonov AN-124 type.

— NATO spokesperson; according to NATO