Russian GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate)
The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) is the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian Federation's armed forces. It sits under the Ministry of Defence rather than alongside the civilian services such as the SVR or FSB. Its remit covers strategic military intelligence and overseas operations, including sabotage and cyber operations that Western governments have repeatedly attributed to it. The agency has been linked by European governments and allied agencies to incidents such as the Salisbury nerve-agent poisoning, election interference and a string of sabotage cases across Europe. It traces its origins to the Soviet military intelligence apparatus and is one of the oldest components of Russia's intelligence system.
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Germany identifies two suspects in Leipzig airport drone attack, blames Russia
German investigators have named a Belarusian citizen and a Russian linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) as the main suspects in the 4 August drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. A drone carrying explosives hidden in a vegetable tin can landed next to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft but failed to detonate because of a faulty detonator. On 1 September, Germany officially blamed Russia for the incident and announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the agreement on the "Russian House" in Berlin; Moscow responded by closing the German consulate general in St. Petersburg and Goethe cultural centers.