DNA links drone attack on An-124 in Leipzig to suspected GRU plot 

German investigators have recovered a DNA trace from the explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) that matches evidence secured after the July 20, 2024, incendiary attack on the airport’s DHL logistics center, German outlets Bild and Die Zeit reported on August 10, 2026. 

The trace has not been matched to a named individual. According to the reporting, it returned a hit in the European DNA database and is registered in Lithuania, where five men are currently on trial over the parcel campaign that produced the 2024 fire. German authorities have not commented on the reported match. 

Drone struck parked Antonov An-124 

Airport video reviewed by investigators shows the drone flying at a parked Antonov Airlines An-124 at around 19:30 on August 4, 2026, striking a wing and falling to the ground.  

The charge separated on impact and came to rest some distance away, where an airport employee found it roughly four hours later near the south runway. German media reporting describes a purpose-built rather than commercial airframe fitted with a release mechanism and two SIM cards, carrying Semtex packed into a sealed food tin with a hole drilled for the detonator, which failed to function. 

The federal prosecutor’s office took the file over from the Dresden general prosecutor on August 6, 2026, citing the particular significance of the case. It is investigating attempted causing of an explosion and dangerous interference with air traffic and characterized the incident as a serious attack on Germany’s transport and logistics infrastructure.  

Flight operations at the airport were partially suspended overnight while federal police examined the object with a bomb disposal robot. 

DNA trail leads to Lithuania 

Vilnius Regional Court, where five defendants are standing trial over the 2024 incendiary parcel campaign. (Credit: Terminator216 / Wikimedia Commons)Five defendants, citizens of Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine including one dual Russian-Lithuanian national, have been on trial at Vilnius Regional Court since April 17, 2026, over four parcels mailed from the Lithuanian capital in July 2024 through DHL and DPD.  

One ignited at Leipzig/Halle shortly before it was due to be loaded onto a flight to Britain. Lithuanian prosecutors allege the operation was coordinated by individuals linked to Russia’s GRU military intelligence service. All five deny the charges.  

A key NATO strategic airlift hub 

Leipzig/Halle has been Antonov Airlines’ operating base since 2022 and hosts Antonov Logistics SALIS GmbH, the contractor for NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution, which gives nine participating nations assured access to An-124 outsized-cargo capacity under an NSPA contract running to the end of 2026. 

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