German interior minister warns of 'hybrid warfare' after drone bomb incident

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has warned that his country is facing daily 'hybrid warfare' attacks from foreign powers, following the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

In comments to the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Dobrindt said that foreign actors are seeking to influence Germany politically and socially by spreading fear and destabilizing the country.

"We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare," the minister said, noting that espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, and covert operations by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing Germany or causing it direct harm have become a reality.

It was not clear from the advance release of the interview whether the minister identified any specific countries as sources of these threats.

Dobrindt's remarks came after a drone loaded with explosives was found Tuesday at an airport in eastern Germany. Some German lawmakers have accused Russia of being behind the incident, amid the ongoing war in Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.

The Russian embassy in Berlin on Friday rejected the allegations related to the Leipzig incident, describing it as a "fabricated provocation" and calling it another example of accusations against Moscow without evidence.

Dobrindt, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union party, described the Leipzig incident as a "hybrid attack scenario" and did not rule out the involvement of foreign powers.

In a separate development, the German armed forces on Saturday reported detecting two drones late Thursday over a site belonging to a German military base in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany.

Dobrindt confirmed that Germany is expanding its research into drones as part of efforts to address new security threats.