Germany sharply increases the level of confrontation with Russia: Amid the diplomatic crisis surrounding the alleged sabotage at Leipzig/Halle airport, Berlin launches production of more than 5,000 attack drones for Ukrainesome of which are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 1,500 kilometers.
According to German media reports, mass production has already begun in the Munich area. The project is being implemented by a joint venture of a German-American company Auterion and Ukrainian Airlogixcreated in February 2026.
The first devices are already ready, and the entire order of the German government is planned to be completed by mid-2027. The cost of the program is estimated at approximately 300 million euros.
Production takes place at two sites at once – in Bavaria and in eastern Germany.
Range – up to 1500 kilometers
In Germany, two types of disposable attack drones are assembled – medium and long range.
The older version is able to overcome up to 1500 kmwhich makes it a weapon not only for the front zone, but also for deep strikes on Russian territory.
Airlogix is responsible for the housing and mechanical components, Auterion for the software and control system.
Separately, the use of artificial intelligence is emphasized, which should allow drones to continue moving towards a given target even in conditions of active electronic warfare.
But the news about drones comes at a very specific moment.
By itself, the new German arms contract for Ukraine would no longer look like something sensational.
However, he appears just days after the most serious diplomatic crisis between Berlin and Moscow in recent years.
On September 1, the German government officially announced that it considers Russia responsible for the attempted sabotage at the airport. Leipzig/Halle.
In August, a drone with explosives and a detonator was discovered in a secure area of the airport near a Ukrainian cargo plane.
German authorities say investigations and intelligence indicate a Russian trail.
Moscow categorically denies the accusations.
Closing of the consulate and the Russian House
Berlin’s response was unusually harsh.
Germany announced the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin, reducing Russia’s diplomatic presence, tightening controls on the entry of Russian citizens and increasing pressure on the so-called Russian shadow fleet.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt formulated the country’s situation as follows:
“We are not at war, but we are the target of hybrid warfare every day.”
At the same time, Berlin deliberately did not initiate NATO consultations on Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
This shows an important boundary: Germany is sharply increasing pressure, but for now is trying to stay below the formal threshold of direct military confrontation.
Why was the reaction to Nord Stream completely different?
Against this background, the question of gas pipeline explosions inevitably arises. Nord Stream.
For Germany, this was a much larger economic blow: infrastructure worth billions of euros that connected Germany to Russian gas supplies was destroyed.
At the same time, the German investigation today increasingly points to the Ukrainian trail.
In July, the German federal prosecutor’s office brought charges against former Ukrainian soldier Sergei K., whom he considers one of the leaders of the group that carried out the sabotage.
He is charged with, among other things, detonating an explosive device, destroying infrastructure and a war crime.
In August, a second suspect was detained in Croatia – a Ukrainian professional diver, whom investigators consider to be a direct participant in the installation of explosives.
And yet there was no political reaction comparable to the current reaction to Leipzig.
The difference is German territory
A possible explanation lies not so much in the amount of damage as in the nature of the threat.
Nord Stream was destroyed at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
The incident in Leipzig, if the version of the German authorities is confirmed, means something completely different: foreign sabotage operation with explosives directly inside a critical facility in Germany.
For any state, this is a fundamentally different red line.
Drone production is also changing Germany’s role in the war
Until now, Germany has mainly supplied Ukraine with air defense systems, armored vehicles, ammunition and financial assistance.
Now we are talking about mass production of weapons for deep blows.
The device, with a range of 1,500 km, is theoretically capable of reaching a significant part of the European territory of Russia.
And although legally the weapons are transferred to Ukraine, the question is becoming increasingly pressing for Moscow: where is the border between the arms supplier and the actual participant in the war?
Does this mean Germany is preparing for war with Russia?
Not yet.
Berlin is clearly trying to avoid a direct confrontation: Germany has not activated NATO Article 4 and is responding to alleged Russian operations with diplomatic, economic and military-technical means.
However, the space between “support for Ukraine” and direct Russian-German confrontation is becoming increasingly narrower.
Especially if long-range German-made drones begin to be used en masse for strikes deep inside Russia.
Editorial comment
In just a few days, too many events have occurred in German-Russian relations to consider them separately.
Berlin accuses Moscow of sabotage on its territory, closes Russian institutions, expels diplomats, tightens visa policies and simultaneously launches industrial production of thousands of long-range attack drones for Ukraine.
This is not yet a war between Germany and Russia. But this is already significantly more than the usual assistance to Kyiv.
The contrast with Nord Stream is especially striking.
The German prosecutor’s office today itself is bringing charges against the Ukrainians in the case of undermining infrastructure that was of strategic importance for Germany. But political relations between Berlin and Kyiv were not severed after this.
After Leipzig, the reaction to the alleged Russian trace was almost immediate and much harsher.
Berlin’s logic is probably that the Nord Stream explosion was perceived as a blow to infrastructure as part of the Ukrainian-Russian war, while potential sabotage inside a German airport is seen as a direct challenge to the German state.
But further escalation creates a different risk.
If Russia comes to the conclusion that factories in Germany produce weapons that are systematically used for long-range strikes on Russian territory, the question of the status of these facilities will inevitably become part of the Russian military debate.
For now, Moscow is limiting itself to warnings and promises of retaliatory measures. And that is why Dobrindt’s statement – “we are not at war, but we are the target of a hybrid war” – perhaps best describes the situation in Germany today.
The most dangerous problem is that both sides increasingly act as if they are preparing for the possible next level of confrontation, while simultaneously claiming that they do not want to go beyond it.
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