Those behind hybrid attacks on Germany ‘will pay a price’: Chancellor Merz

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday vowed that Germany will make those responsible for hybrid attacks on the country “pay a price.”

Speaking to reporters ahead of the government’s two-day Cabinet retreat near Berlin, Merz said the recent attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport underscored the seriousness of the threats Germany faces.

“Attackers are becoming increasingly unscrupulous, willing to accept even severe property damage, injuries, and deaths,” Merz said. He noted that the investigation remains ongoing and that the government will soon present its findings.

“The German government will make perpetrators of hybrid attacks pay a price. They will be held accountable,” he said, adding that a recent legislative package aimed at strengthening the country’s intelligence services will further bolster security.

Merz stressed that such attacks will not deter Germany from strongly supporting Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We are staying the course,” he said. “Germany will maintain its support for Ukraine for the long haul. We are currently Ukraine’s strongest supporter — not to prolong the war, but to force peace talks.”

Media reports on Tuesday indicated that the attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane at Leipzig Airport earlier this month was more serious than previously reported, and that the perpetrators may have been planning a larger operation.

According to public broadcasters NDR and WDR and Suddeutsche Zeitung daily, investigators now believe that several drones were used rather than just one. The first was found on the airport grounds, while a second may have collided with a DHL cargo aircraft.

A third drone, previously unreported, was discovered in the early evening of Aug. 14 in a field near the western edge of Leipzig Airport, security sources said. Forensic technicians from the Federal Criminal Police Office and additional police forces arrived at the site that day.

The following day, investigators reportedly found a substance that initial assessments suggested was about 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of the highly explosive military compound hexogen.