NATO expresses solidarity with Germany after alleged Russian ‘hybrid attack’ in Leipzig

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday expressed the alliance’s full solidarity with Germany following what he described as a Russian hybrid attack in the eastern city of Leipzig last month.

Rutte said on US social media company X that he had spoken with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the Aug. 14 incident.

“NATO stands in full solidarity with Germany after the Russian hybrid attack in Leipzig on 14 August. The evidence is clear,” he said, welcoming measures announced by Berlin in response.

Rutte said NATO would continue strengthening its ability to deter threats and defend all member states, including against “malign actions” such as those seen in Leipzig and elsewhere across the alliance.

“Russia’s attempts to intimidate us, to undermine our unity and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and will fail,” he said.

He added that NATO’s support for Ukraine remains “unwavering,” along with its “ironclad commitment” to the alliance’s collective defense.

German authorities told media last week that the attempted attack on a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane at Leipzig Airport in August was more serious than initially described. The drone had been rigged with explosives, and investigators concluded that several drones were involved rather than one.

German newspaper Welt am Sonntag also reported that the discovery of a weapons cache near Berlin has hardened the German government’s stance. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, assessed that the weapons were stashed for Russian spies who could be ordered by Moscow to carry out assassinations.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin has not issued an official statement on the allegations. Moscow has previously rejected claims of assassinations, sabotage and spying in countries allied with Ukraine, accusing Western governments of stoking “anti-Russian paranoia.”