Germany is pushing European partners to create a rapid-response task force in the Baltic Sea region as Berlin confronts what it says is an escalating campaign of Russian hybrid warfare, including an attempted explosives-laden drone attack on one of the country's most important cargo airports.The initiative, proposed by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt following an Aug.28 meeting in Flensburg, is intended to allow Baltic Sea countries to rapidly exchange information and coordinate responses to hybrid threats ranging from drones and sabotage to cyberattacks, disinformation and attacks on critical infrastructure."We want to turn this shared threat environment into a shared security environment," Dobrindt said, warning that hybrid threats were becoming more frequent and sophisticated.The proposal has taken on new urgency after Germany formally accused Russia this week of responsibility for an attempted Aug.
4 attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport involving a drone carrying explosives.EXPLOSIVE DRONE FORCES SHUTDOWN AT MAJOR GERMAN AIRPORT SERVING NATO, UKRAINE FLIGHTSA drone carrying explosives was found at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport on Tuesday night next to a Ukrainian plane, with officials warning the incident represented "a new quality of danger." (Hendrik Schmidt/DPA via AP)German officials said police findings, intelligence information and the methods used in the attack led Berlin to conclude Russia was responsible.The government said aspects of the drone, explosives and detonation technology were consistent with methods seen in previous Russian hybrid operations and in Moscow's war against Ukraine.Germany has not publicly released much of the underlying evidence, saying details including information about suspected perpetrators, travel routes, surveillance footage and DNA evidence are being withheld to protect the investigation.Latvia characterized the Leipzig attack in even stronger terms."The attack in Leipzig confirms once again that Russia poses a ...