Germany’s government has formally accused Russia of responsibility for an attempted sabotage operation at Leipzig/Halle Airport, as a senior German defence executive warned that the country was already effectively “at war” with Moscow and Russian state media intensified threats against Berlin.
Stefan Thumann, a German defence entrepreneur whose company Donaustahl supplies combat drones to Ukraine, said some alleged Russian operations amounted to an “act of war controlled and coordinated here by the Russian armed forces”.
Speaking on a podcast operated by the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, Thumann said: “Germany and Russia are at war.”
The comments came as Germany hardened its public stance towards Moscow following an August 4 incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where a drone carrying explosives was discovered close to a Ukrainian aircraft and subsequently defused.
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Thumann has also said that he is living under protection after authorities uncovered what he described as an alleged Russian plot to poison him.
The rhetoric from Moscow has become increasingly confrontational. Vladimir Solovyov, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s most prominent state propagandists, argued that Germany should no longer be treated as a legitimate unified country and called for the restoration of East Germany, formally known as the German Democratic Republic.
Solovyov said Russia should “demand the restoration of the GDR and simply sever all diplomatic relations”.
“There is no such country,” he added.
Jim Sciutto, CNN anchor and chief national security analyst, responded on X: “This is the same logic Russia used to invade Ukraine.”
The German government’s attribution of the Leipzig/Halle incident represents a significant escalation in its public allegations against Moscow.
Interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said Berlin had concluded “that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack” at the airport.
Referring to what he described as “Russian hybrid operations”, Dobrindt said the government “comes to the conclusion that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig on Aug. 4”.
Germany has previously accused Russia of espionage, cyber attacks and sabotage on German territory, but the Leipzig/Halle case has prompted direct diplomatic measures.
Foreign minister Johann Wadephul subsequently announced that the Russian consulate in Bonn would close on September 18. Germany will also terminate the operating contract for the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin.
The airport at Leipzig/Halle is strategically important to European military logistics. Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft regularly operate from the facility, while the airport also supports Nato’s Strategic Airlift International Solution programme.
SALIS provides heavy airlift capabilities for alliance and European missions, transporting military equipment to Nato battle groups along the alliance’s eastern flank, from Finland to Romania, as well as supporting other Nato and EU operations.
The airport’s role in supplying Ukraine and supporting western military logistics makes it particularly sensitive to any attempt to disrupt operations, while also increasing the potential significance of the German government’s decision to attribute the alleged attack to Moscow.
For Berlin, the increasingly direct language from both Russian officials and German security authorities reflects a widening confrontation over sabotage, critical infrastructure and western military support for Ukraine.
The government now faces the dual task of protecting strategically important sites and containing a deterioration in relations with Moscow, while trying to prevent individual acts of sabotage — whether state-backed or otherwise — from developing into a broader confrontation between Russia and Nato.
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