Attack on Ukrainian plane in Leipzig: Investigators uncover key evidence pointing to Russia

Antenna in the An-124 case in Leipzig

Investigators found a small antenna in a tree that could prove very important in the search for the saboteurs. Authorities now suspect that it was installed by the perpetrators, according to the outlet.

Experts believe it may have amplified the signal used to guide an explosive-laden drone toward the airport.

DNA found on drone wreckage

Security authorities hope to obtain additional clues about the perpetrators from DNA traces found on a can filled with explosives.

Other suspicious DNA traces of varying quality were found both on the drone itself and near the crime scene.

There is a so-called trace match that may be connected to another case in which the same DNA was found. Another trace apparently leads to Lithuania.

Modified drone

According to sources close to the investigation, the drone was a specially developed model equipped with an additional battery to extend its flight time, Tagesschau reports.

It also:

• had no navigation lights,
• was equipped with a camera,
• had a 5G router and two SIM cards connected.

Control via mobile network

Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office suspects that the drone was controlled via a mobile network, possibly from a long distance.

The technical equipment could theoretically have allowed the drone to be controlled from anywhere in the world.

Therefore, the discovery of an antenna in a tree near the airport suggests that the perpetrators wanted to create the strongest and least obstructed control signal possible for the drone, according to the outlet.

Russian agents

There is a case that bears striking similarities to the attack on the Ukrainian aircraft in Leipzig, the outlet reports.

Two years ago, a network of recruited so-called "one-time agents" operating in Lithuania, Poland and Germany sent explosive devices, some of them by air.

According to investigators, the network may have been controlled by Russian military intelligence, the GRU. The packages caught fire at airports in Leipzig, Birmingham and Warsaw.

Several people are currently on trial in Poland and Lithuania in connection with a series of attacks.

It is also known that a young Ukrainian man recruited to carry out attacks apparently traveled to Germany as well. There, he may have collected items for a Russian intelligence service that were likely used to detonate the drone.

These included drone components, special mounts and cans.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that US intelligence had linked the incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany to Russia. A drone carrying explosives was found near the Ukrainian An-124 aircraft.

In addition, Germany reported new details about the incident involving the drone near the An-124 at Leipzig Airport. The search for debris from a possible second drone is ongoing.

German investigators are also examining possible Russian involvement in the drone incident near the Antonov aircraft at Leipzig Airport.