Russian biker Oleg Levushkin, linked to a Russian military intelligence officer, may have organized 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 near a Ukrainian cargo plane. This led to the closure of the airport for the next few hours.
Levushkin had close ties for nearly two decades with Denis Smolyaninov, a colonel in the Russian military intelligence GRU.
Sources involved in the investigation said that GRU Unit 29155 played a key role in the Russian sabotage campaign in Europe, part of which the Leipzig attack is believed to have been.
The German government officially blamed Russia for the attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport nearly a month after the incident. The drone, which was found near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane, was carrying explosives, but its detonator was apparently defective.
At least two drones were involved in the operation. The first was discovered on the night of August 4-5, and the second ten days later, near the airport.
Since the beginning of 2026, more than 165 suspected acts of sabotage have been recorded in Germany, along with hundreds of incidents involving suspicious drones near military facilities and critical infrastructure.
German investigators suspect an employee of the Russian military intelligence (Main Intelligence Directorate - GRU) of being involved in the preparation of the attempted "hybrid attack" with a drone loaded with explosives at Leipzig Airport. These facts have led Berlin to blame Russia and announce a series of measures, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural center in Berlin, the newspaper reported. Moscow denies involvement in the attack.