Ministers withhold details on Leipzig drone link to Lithuania

Lithuania’s defence and interior ministers have received detailed information about a possible link between a drone incident at Leipzig Airport and a Lithuanian investigation into incendiary packages sent abroad, LRT reported on Monday.

The Interior Ministry told BNS that Lithuanian institutions were actively cooperating with relevant foreign authorities to prevent possible acts of sabotage. It said no further details could be provided while specific investigations were under way.

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said he had received the requested information, but that it was not intended for public release. He said the matter fell primarily under the Interior Ministry’s responsibility and declined to comment further.

At the beginning of August, a drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig Halle Airport in eastern Germany. Another aircraft collided in the air with an unidentified object and sustained minor damage.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US intelligence had linked the incident to Russia. German investigators found DNA matching traces discovered after an incident at a DHL logistics centre in Leipzig in July 2024, although the DNA has not been linked to a specific person.

During that period, four packages were sent from Lithuania to the United Kingdom and Poland. Two of the four packages containing incendiary devices were transported by DHL. One caught fire in Germany at Leipzig Airport, while the other caught fire at a warehouse in the United Kingdom.

The case is being heard by the Vilnius Regional Court, with five people charged. Officials say they were executors and intermediaries, while the organisers of the crime are in Russia and cannot currently be reached. Investigators have determined that the crimes were organised by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces.