BERLIN: Germany faces daily hybrid warfare attacks from abroad, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, following a suspected attack attempt involving an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

Speaking to the newspaper *Bild am Sonntag*, Dobrindt said foreign powers were seeking to subdue Germany politically and socially by stirring up fear. He said the country was not at war but was the daily target of hybrid warfare, describing espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and covert operations aimed at destabilising Germany or causing direct harm as a constant reality. He did not name any particular country.

*Bild* reported that the government plans to expand Germany’s counter-drone capacity in response to the threat. After the explosives-laden drone was found at the eastern German airport last Tuesday, some German lawmakers pointed at Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine since its 2022 invasion. The Russian embassy in Berlin dismissed the Leipzig episode on Friday as a fabricated provocation and another instance of unsubstantiated accusations.

Dobrindt, a member of the Christian Social Union, had previously characterised the Leipzig incident as a hybrid attack scenario while leaving open the possibility of foreign involvement. Germany’s armed forces separately reported that two drones were spotted late on Thursday over a military site at Mechernich in North Rhine-Westphalia. Source: Reuters