A Russian motorcyclist with alleged links to senior figures in a Russian network suspected of carrying out sabotage operations across Europe has been identified as the person investigators believe coordinated an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany.
A joint investigation by the British newspaper The Telegraph and Germany’s Die Welt identified the man as Oleg Levushkin, who is accused of organizing the operation in which a drone carrying an explosive device crashed into the wing of a Ukrainian cargo aircraft.
The intended target was an Antonov An-124 transport aircraft parked at the airport and reportedly carrying around 25,000 liters of aviation fuel. Investigators said an explosion could have caused extensive damage at the airport, which is an important logistics hub for military assistance to Ukraine. The improvised device, however, fell onto the runway without detonating.
According to the investigation, Levushkin allegedly designed the operation and recruited Belarusian operative Andrei Karshakou to carry out the attack. Investigators reportedly found that the device was similar to explosives used in previous suspected Russian sabotage operations in Poland and Lithuania.
Levushkin is also reported to have maintained direct contacts for years with Denis Smolyaninov, a senior Russian military intelligence officer associated with the GRU’s Ukraine-related operations. Western intelligence agencies have identified Smolyaninov as a suspected planner of sabotage attacks in Europe, according to the report.
Publicly, Levushkin had presented himself as a family man who enjoyed skiing, fishing and long motorcycle trips across Europe with his wife and daughters. German intelligence services, however, allegedly linked him to covert activities on European territory.
According to German intelligence findings cited in the investigation, Levushkin entered Germany via Turkey and rented a vehicle at an airport in Berlin. Vehicle-tracking data allegedly showed that he visited several locations where weapons had been concealed.
The investigation further reported that 1.8 kilograms of plastic explosive had been smuggled into Germany by truck through Bulgaria and Serbia. The device allegedly used in the Leipzig operation consisted of an improvised container containing the explosive material.
Location data reportedly showed that Levushkin personally visited Leipzig/Halle Airport and filmed its terminals five days before the attempted attack. German security services allegedly already knew upon his entry into the country that he had links to the GRU, but did not place him under operational surveillance, according to the report.
Police investigating the incident reportedly recovered remains of three drones and an improvised antenna placed in a nearby tree. Investigators also recovered a piece of a glove containing DNA that they said matched Karshakou, who had previously come to the attention of police in Finland and Lithuania.
Karshakou has also been linked by investigators to a 2024 arson attack at a construction-supplies store in Poland. Investigators reportedly found identical metal containers containing explosives previously buried in a cemetery in Lithuania, allegedly intended for transfer to targets in Poland and Germany.
Western intelligence agencies have attributed a series of such operations to Unit 29155 of Russia’s GRU and the related Unit 52659. The units have been associated by Western authorities with suspected assassination, arson and sabotage operations in Europe, including fires involving DHL logistics facilities in Birmingham and Leipzig.
German authorities have warned that Russia is deliberately spreading sabotage operations to intimidate European populations and discourage support for Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Berlin has rejected the allegations.
