German leaders check sabotage in the fatal DHL crash in Lithuania

The crash of the freight aircraft

The plane started from Leipzig, Germany, and was supposed to land at Vilnius Airport when it crashed a few kilometers from the runway. The machine slipped several hundred meters above the ground before it hit a residential building, according to the authorities in Lithuania.

reactions of the German leaders

When asked whether the crash is the result of hybrid warfare, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday evening in an interview with public broadcast ZDF: "We look at this. We cannot say anything at the moment, but it could be so - we are currently seeing many bad forms of hybrid warfare in Germany."

Scholz added that the cause of the crash "had to be examined exactly", but emphasized that no allegations would be raised as long as there are no evidence.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who, according to Reuters, said at a G7 summit: "The fact that we now have to seriously ask ourselves to our Lithuanian and Spanish partners whether this was an accident or another hybrid event, in which we are currently in our heart, even in the heart of Europe."

studies and current developments

A spokesman for the Lithuanian national crisis management center said that the police and the public prosecutor's office are investigating the incident, but there is currently no evidence that an explosion preceded the crash.

The US National Transportation Safety Board sends its own employees to support the investigation. In addition, representatives of Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration are also involved.

surveillance cameras nearby showed how the plane descend before it disappeared behind a building. Shortly afterwards there was a large fire ball in the sky, followed by a cloud of smoke.

victim of the accident

A crew member died in the crash. Three other people on board, including the pilot, survived the incident, as well as 12 people in the affected residential building that were certainly evacuated, reported local authorities.

possible causes and suspicions

The head of the Lithuanian secret service, Darius Jauniskis, said at a press conference: "We cannot rule out the possibility of terrorism ... but at the moment we cannot make any assignments or accusations because we lack such information."

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on fire bombs, which were ignited in Leipzig, Germany and the United Kingdom in July, and the part of a hidden Russian operation that aimed to endanger cargo and passenger flights to the USA and Canada. Some European officials later supported these allegations that Moscow rejected.

"I can confirm that this is part of unconventional kinetic operations against NATO countries that are carried out by the military intelligence service in Russia," said Kestutis Budrys, a consultant for national security by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, according to the Wall Street Journal.

official answers and explanations

The spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, described the reporting of Wall Street Journal as "incomprehensible and never supported by credible information."

The crashed cargo aircraft was a Swiftair aircraft that "operated for DHL on contract", as the logistics company confirmed in a statement to CNN. DHL said that the plane had "made an emergency landing about one kilometer from the VNO airport" and confirmed that four people were on board. "The cause of the accident is still unknown and the investigation is underway," it said.

According to a Swiftair explanation, it was a Boeing 737-400. The mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, stated that the plane escaped almost a direct impact on the house and instead crashed in the nearby courtyard.

The head of the Lithuanian police, Arūnas Paulauskas, said that the event "most likely due to a technical error or human failure", but also terrorism can be "not excluded".

Claudia Otto, Helen Regan, Edward Szekeres, Sandi Sidhu, Manveena Suri and Lauren Kent from CNN at.