On August 4, 2026, a sabotage attempt using a drone carrying explosives targeted a Ukrainian An-124 cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. The drone crashed into the aircraft's wing but failed to detonate. Investigations linked the operation directly to Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. The plot involved GRU Colonel Denis Smolyaninov, arms dealer Andrei Usachev, and operatives including Oleg Levushkin (a Latvian citizen providing EU access), Belarusian Andrei Karshakov (who was directly involved in the drone operation and previously participated in a 2024 arson attack in Poland), and others such as Maksim Lapunov, Vyacheslav Aysin, Denis Shulgan, and Roman Kovalevsky. The investigation revealed the GRU's use of criminals and ex-convicts for covert sabotage and recon activities in Europe. The drone attack was linked to efforts to disrupt Ukraine-related logistics through Germany. This failed attack exposed the GRU’s multi-year clandestine recruitment and operational approach involving criminal underworld figures for hybrid sabotage warfare.

On August 4, 2026, a sabotage attempt using a drone carrying explosives targeted a Ukrainian An-124 cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. The drone crashed into the aircraft's wing but failed to detonate. Investigations linked the operation directly to Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU. The plot involved GRU Colonel Denis Smolyaninov, arms dealer Andrei Usachev, and operatives including Oleg Levushkin (a Latvian citizen providing EU access), Belarusian Andrei Karshakov (who was directly involved in the drone operation and previously participated in a 2024 arson attack in Poland), and others such as Maksim Lapunov, Vyacheslav Aysin, Denis Shulgan, and Roman Kovalevsky. The investigation revealed the GRU's use of criminals and ex-convicts for covert sabotage and recon activities in Europe. The drone attack was linked to efforts to disrupt Ukraine-related logistics through Germany. This failed attack exposed the GRU’s multi-year clandestine recruitment and operational approach involving criminal underworld figures for hybrid sabotage warfare.