Finnish Police Failed to Detain Suspect in Attack on Ukrainian An-124 in Leipzig

Andrey K. from Belarus, who is implicated in the case of an attempted terrorist attack at Leipzig – Halle Airport, managed to leave Finland before the police decided to detain him.

This was reported by sources at the Finnish media outlet Yle.

In early August, a drone carrying explosives was discovered near a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan aircraft at Leipzig – Halle Airport. According to German intelligence, those involved in the incident were acting in the interests of Russia.

German authorities reported that one of the suspects has ties to Finland.

Matches were found between the suspect’s DNA fragments and data in the registries of the Finnish and Lithuanian authorities.

This indicates that the man’s DNA profile is included in the Finnish police DNA registry.

Belarusian Andrey K.

German authorities reported that the man is Belarusian and holds a Russian passport. The authorities have released his first name and the first letter of his last name.

In Germany, specifically the newspaper Die Welt, a longer version of the name was published. Yle knows the man’s full name and date of birth, but the editorial staff is not publishing them because he is only suspected of committing a crime.

In Finland, 40-year-old Andrey has not been convicted or charged. There are no records of him in public police records.

According to Yle, he is not even officially a suspect in the pre-trial investigation in Finland.

There are no records of civil cases involving him in the courts of first instance, nor are there any in the public records of the administrative courts.

The man is also not listed in the Finnish population register.

Unidentified DNA

According to Die Welt, remnants of gloves were found at the crime scene in Leipzig, from which a DNA profile was obtained.

The same profile had previously been recorded in Finland and Lithuania. According to Die Welt, in Finland, this DNA profile was obtained in a case involving a property crime.

The Finnish police are not commenting on the case, as it involves a pre-trial investigation in another country, and Finland merely provided information upon request.

Subsequently, the man may become a suspect in the Finnish investigation as well—precisely because of the DNA identified in Germany.

According to Die Welt, German authorities consider Andrey K. a petty criminal, a so-called ‘proxy operative’ hired by Russia to carry out sabotage. According to the Finnish Security Police, such a person could act as a Russian agent without even realizing it.

According to Die Welt’s sources within the German authorities, the second suspect is believed to be a genuine agent of Russian military intelligence.

Oleg L. is suspected of organizing the operation and directing Andrey. No information has been reported regarding Oleg L.’s connection to Finland.

According to Die Welt, Andrey K. is also suspected of involvement in a fire in Łódź, Poland, in the summer of 2024, which the city’s prosecutor’s office also considers an act of sabotage.