- Italy will verify the visa file after reports linked an Italian tourist visa in Minsk to the Leipzig/Halle sabotage case.
- German investigators say two suspects were identified, including a Belarusian man who allegedly entered Schengen with the visa in late April 2026.
- Germany blamed Russia on September 1, 2026 and later closed a Russian consulate and cultural centre in Berlin.
Italy is checking whether a suspect in the Leipzig/Halle Airport sabotage case entered Schengen on an Italian tourist visa issued in Minsk, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the government will verify the facts. The inquiry centers on how the document was granted and what screening happened before travel. The file is open.
“An investigation will be conducted to verify the facts.”
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Tajani said visas go out only after applicants meet the requirements and no alert appears in the relevant databases. He added that Italy would carry out all necessary checks. The screening claim is central.
German reports say investigators identified two suspects, a Belarusian man who also holds a Russian passport and a second suspect with Russian and Latvian passports. The Belarusian suspect is said to have received the visa at the end of April 2026 from Italy's diplomatic mission in the Belarusian capital and then used it to enter Schengen. He was not publicly named. The trail was narrow.
The case is tied to the failed sabotage and drone plot at the airport on August 4, 2026. Investigators reportedly traced the Belarusian suspect through DNA evidence and reconstructed his entry and exit from Germany. Other reporting described a logistics coordinator and an instructor behind the attack. The reconstruction matters.
Alexander Dobrindt said on September 1, 2026 that Germany had concluded Russia was responsible for the attempted drone attack and that the suspects were acting on behalf of Russian state agencies. “Taken together, police investigations, patterns of the offences and intelligence findings establish Russian responsibility for the attempted attack at Leipzig Airport.” Germany later closed a Russian consulate and a Russian cultural centre in Berlin after reaching that conclusion. Berlin had already hardened its position.
Italy says it will check the visa file
Tajani said Italy would carry out all necessary checks and verify whether the visa was properly issued under the rules. He also said visas are issued only if applicants meet the requirements and there are no warnings in the relevant databases. That is the key screening question. It now sits at the center of the probe.
The reported issuance date, late April 2026, gives the review a fixed point. So does the alleged entry into Schengen. Italian officials are looking at both. The consular record is now part of a security file.
The document itself has become more than a travel permit. It now sits inside a sabotage inquiry tied to alleged foreign-state involvement. That raises the pressure on the visa process. It also puts the screening checks under a brighter light.
The case has also fed a broader dispute inside Europe over tourist visas for Russians. Kaja Kallas said the allegation, if confirmed, would show that tourist visas can be exploited by people seeking to harm the EU. Brussels heard the warning. The political ripple spread quickly.
On September 2 and 3, 2026, reporting said Italy would review how the visa was granted and that support was building for tighter restrictions on tourist visas for Russians. The debate is moving. Italy's checks are still under way. The file remains open.
Germany's conclusion has already triggered other steps. After linking the attempted attack to Russia, Berlin closed a Russian consulate and a Russian cultural centre in Berlin. That fallout is still widening. The visa review now sits inside it.
