Iceland summons Russian embassy representative over attempted German drone attack

Iceland’s foreign ministry summoned a representative of the Russian embassy in Reykjavík on Thursday over an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany last month, mbl.is reported.

Martin Eyjólfsson, the ministry’s permanent secretary, called the representative to a meeting to reaffirm Icelandic government solidarity with Germany, according to a statement from the Icelandic government.

German authorities have formally blamed Russia for the attempted attack, which took place on 4 August.

“We raised serious objections to Russia’s conduct and the multifaceted measures used by the authorities in Moscow to undermine European security and influence Germany’s and other NATO member states’ support for Ukraine’s defence,” Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir said in the statement.

Iceland also condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine at the meeting. “We made it unequivocally clear to the representative of the Russian embassy that Iceland’s support for Ukraine is steadfast and will remain so,” Gunnarsdóttir said.

The incident involved a drone carrying explosives and an ignition device that was found in a restricted area of the airport, near Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. It did not explode, and bomb disposal experts secured it.

Investigators believe that more drones may have been involved. A second drone, which also appeared to be carrying explosives, was found in a field near the airport 10 days later.

German security authorities said the explosives, ignition device and other technology found were linked to methods known from previous multifaceted Russian operations. Intelligence information also indicated that individuals involved in the operation had worked for the Russian authorities.