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Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior has denied reports that a drone carrying explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft loaded with ammunition for Ukraine.
At a joint meeting of the Bundestag's defense and interior committees, officials said that the aircraft was not carrying weapons or ammunition. The information was reported by dpa, citing data consistent with an earlier report by Focus.
Detlef Seif, chairman of the Bundestag's Interior Committee, also rejected the reports.
"According to all the discussions I have been involved in, the aircraft was not loaded with ammunition or weapons," he told Reuters.
What the airport operator says
Maret Montavon, head of communications and government relations at Mitteldeutsche Flughafen, which operates Leipzig/Halle Airport, told Leipziger Volkszeitung that the aircraft was completely empty.
"The Antonov in question was empty at the time of the incident and therefore was not carrying any cargo."
She added that this assessment was consistent with information received from Antonov Logistics SALIS.
Germany's Interior Ministry had not yet responded to an official request for comment.
Earlier, security sources reported that a drone carrying explosives had been found near a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Tuesday. German federal police subsequently neutralized the explosive device.
Following the incident, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt invited several European counterparts to a meeting aimed at coordinating a joint strategy for protection against drones and strengthening security around critical infrastructure.
