German airport drone-bomb: Could Russia be involved?

As Germany investigates how a drone loaded with explosives reached a runway at Leipzig airport, there is renewed talk in Europe of hybrid war.

The interior minister is warning of a "new level of danger" from an attack that "may involve foreign powers".

There is no proof at this stage to link the flying bomb directly to Russia, which denies any role. But as well as the means and the motive, Moscow does have form.

The BBC has seen details of the investigation into a plot in 2024 in which Russian-linked proxies in Poland and Lithuania not only handled drones and explosives but also delivered them to Germany.

The quadcopter was discovered at Leipzig airport late on Tuesday night, forcing one runway into lockdown as a bomb disposal robot rolled into action.

On the tarmac close by were several Ukrainian Antonov cargo planes, stripes along their enormous bodies in the blue and yellow of the country's flag. One reads, "Be Brave Like Kherson", the southern city now on the frontline of Russia's invasion.

Pictures published by German media suggest the drone was a relatively small device which airport staff spotted "floating" between the Ukrainian planes.

Around the same time, a DHL cargo plane collided with an "unidentified object" as it pulled up into the sky, unable to land in Leipzig.