Russian-Linked Saboteurs Tried to Blow Up Ukrainian An-124 at Leipzig Airport, Investigation Finds
Investigators say the drone attack used explosives and targeted a parked Ukrainian cargo plane carrying 25,000 liters of jet fuel.
- On July 31, a drone carrying 1.8 kilograms of Semtex struck a parked Ukrainian Antonov An-124 at Leipzig-Halle Airport but failed to detonate; investigators suspect the explosives were smuggled into Germany via Bulgaria and Serbia.
- Russian national Oleg Levushkin organized the operation, according to The Telegraph and Welt, and allegedly maintains ties to Denis Smolyaninov, a colonel in Russia's GRU who heads a department specializing in sabotage.
- Described by officials as a "disposable agent," Belarusian national Andrei Karshakou allegedly carried out the attack; police later recovered drone debris, an improvised antenna array, and a glove fragment containing his DNA.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attempt as an operation using military-grade materials, while The Russian Embassy in Berlin rejected allegations as "baseless accusations."
- The targeted aircraft carried approximately 25,000 liters of jet fuel, and investigators assessed that a detonation could have caused severe airport damage; the Leipzig operation is linked to the GRU, known for past sabotage in the Czech Republic.
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33 Articles
A drone with explosives on a Ukrainian cargo machine in Leipzig, explosions in ammunition factories and sabotage at sea. Russia is intensifying its hybrid warfare in the middle of Europe and is specifically testing NATO's red lines. But what happens if such an attack on German soil actually succeeds and triggers the alliance? Gordon Repinski talks about this in this [...]
A Russian motorcyclist, who has links with one of the main coordinators of Russian sabotage operations against Europe, was identified as the person who orchestrated the failed attack on a Ukrainian cargo aircraft from Leipzig airport, where an explosive-loaded drone was used, according to an investigation by The Telegraph and Welt am Sonntag.
A Russian biker, Oleg Levushkin, is behind the attempted sabotage at Leipzig Airport, reported by Bild with reference to the Welt and The Telegraph investigations.
Russian motorcyclist Oleg Levushkin, linked to a Russian military intelligence officer, may have orchestrated an attempted sabotage at Leipzig airport, The Telegraph and Welt am Sonntag reported in a joint investigation. A German security source said the explosives may have been transported to Germany via Bulgaria and Serbia, hidden in cavities inside trucks. On the night of August 5, a drone carrying explosives was found on the airport grounds …
The Telegraph identifies Russian biker Oleg Levushkin as suspected organizer of Leipzig airport sabotage. It links the operation to a GRU unit whose officers are accused in the Skripal poisoning.
The British newspaper The Telegraph has identified the suspected organizer of a sabotage attack at Leipzig Airport. German media had previously reported on the suspect, citing German law enforcement authorities, without naming him.
A joint investigation by The Telegraph and Welt am Sonntag revealed that Oleg Levushkin, a dual Latvian-Russian citizen, is believed to have planned a failed act of sabotage at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany.
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