Germany faces daily hybrid warfare attacks, interior minister says

BERLIN — Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the country faces attacks on a daily basis as part of hybrid warfare, including espionage, sabotage, cyber operations and covert activities by foreign powers. In remarks to Bild am Sonntag, Dobrindt said Germany is not at war but confronts hybrid threats every day, adding that foreign actors seek to spread fear and anxiety in order to exert influence across political and social spheres. Dobrindt described efforts to destabilize the country or cause direct harm as an accepted reality, and pointed to last week's discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport as a hybrid attack scenario, without ruling out the involvement of foreign powers. German lawmakers have used the incident to accuse Russia, while the Russian Embassy in Berlin has rejected the allegations. Separately, the German Federal Armed Forces said two unmanned aerial vehicles were detected over a military base in North Rhine-Westphalia on Thursday evening. No further details on the incidents were immediately available.