Ukraine-Russia war latest: Drone armed with explosives at Germany’s Leipzig airport represents ‘new threat’, minister warns

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he has spoken with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte about the possibility of ⁠securing more ​air ⁠defence interceptors.

“Mark is well-informed about the threats, and we have coordinated our efforts regarding countries that possess the necessary missiles and the capability to help,” Zelensky wrote in English on social media platform X.

“It is crucial to eliminate all bureaucracy and make the required political decisions.”

After speaking with the Ukrainian leader, Rutte said in a post on X that ‌he is “discussing with ​Allies how we ‌can continue to ⁠get Ukraine the air ⁠defences they urgently need”.

Ukraine’s depleted air defences failed to stop any of Moscow’s incoming missiles yesterday as Russia unleashed at least 115 drones and 28 hypersonic and ballistic missiles.

The barrage, which lasted about two hours, was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian missile strikes that have become almost routine this summer.

Moscow is exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the US-made Patriot systems, the sole air defence weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Volodymyr Zelensky said after a Russian attack Friday night that air defences shot down only one ballistic missile “solely because there are no missiles for the Patriots.”

Supplies of defensive missiles for Ukraine in the first half of this year fell to one-third of the 2025 level, Zelensky said.

“Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today,” Zelensky said.

“It is very important for our partners to understand that delays in supplying them, or a reluctance to hand over anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.”

At least three people have been killed in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine’s eastern city of Balakliia, local officials said this morning.

The authorities said rescuers are working to douse fires and clear the debris from the attack.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio and foreign secretary Ed Miliband discussed the importance of Europe taking a greater role in its security during a meeting ⁠in Washington yesterday, the State Department said in a statement.

A British official said they also reaffirmed the strength of the relationship between the two allies, including their shared commitment to the Nato security alliance.

Rubio ⁠told reporters before the meeting ​that ⁠Ukraine would also be on the agenda.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has ratcheted up appeals to allies for ⁠more air defence missiles as Russia escalates ballistic missile strikes.

Miliband had planned to underline that Ukraine’s security is inseparable from European and transatlantic security, and to reiterate the UK’s commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, his ministry said.

German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said the explosive-laden drone found near a ⁠runway at Leipzig/Halle airport overnight was a hybrid attack which opened a new level of danger.

Germany opened a counterterrorism investigation on Wednesday after the drone prompted the closure of parts of one of Europe’s biggest cargo hubs.

“Drone sightings and drone threats in a hybrid context are something we have known from the past, but a drone armed with explosives being present on airport grounds is a new threat scenario,” Dobrindt ⁠said, after an emergency meeting with the heads of Germany’s security ​services ⁠on Wednesday night.

Airport workers discovered the drone in a restricted cargo area near the southern runway overnight. Flights were suspended and several aircraft, including some owned by German logistics firm DHL, were diverted. Authorities said there had ⁠been no danger to passengers or airport staff and most operations resumed by morning after one runway was reopened.

All speculation about the explosives, the drone, its origin, and who is behind it, is now part of the investigation, the interior minister said. “It is part of the nature of hybrid threats that it is not always immediately clear where they originate,” Dobrindt said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has named Denis Lyamin to head Russia’s Unmanned Systems Forces, a newly established branch of the military that will be responsible for drone warfare.

Lyamin was previously chief of staff for the “Centre” group of the Russian armed forces.

The 47-year-old, who graduated from Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School in 2001, commanded the 58th Combined Arms army in 2023.

He also served as the commander of the 22nd Army Corps in Crimea after November 2020.

Russian forces have taken control of two more Ukrainian villages, the Russian defence ministry claimed on Wednesday.

Moscow named the villages as Ryzhivka in the Sumy region and Zirnytsia in the Zaporizhzhia region.

As we reported earlier, the European Commission has said the EU will use £1.2 billion taken from interest generated by frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

The money was transferred to the blog on 3 August and comes from interest on cash balances, part of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU in the wake of Moscow’s invasion, the Commission added.

“Russia must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the immobilised Russian assets to make sure it does,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in the statement.

“We are making a further €1.4 billion of them available to Ukraine. This will support Ukraine’s continued resistance against Russia’s illegal war,” she added.

Supplies of air defence missiles to Ukraine are three times less than in 2025, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian president urged politicians in allied countries to approve more deliveries.

“This concerns not only this summer period, but every period of the first half of 2026,” Mr Zelensky said on X following a deadly Russian strike on Kyiv, during which Ukraine did not manage to intercept any incoming missiles.

“Our partners do have the missiles. It is important that the necessary political decisions on supplies and the acceleration of production processes are ultimately made – including decisions on localization in Ukraine.”