German investigators are looking into two suspects in relation to the failed drone attack at Leipzig airport last month that Berlin believes was carried out on behalf of Russia, several German media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Die Zeit weekly reported that federal prosecutors are investigating two suspects.
Broadcasters NDR and WDR as well as the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that federal criminal police have identified two suspects.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the reports.
It comes a day after Germany officially blamed Russia for an explosive-laden drone that was discovered near Ukrainian cargo aircraft at the eastern German airport on the evening of August 4.
Moscow denies any involvement with the drone and has described the incident involving the device, which failed to detonate, as a "provocation" serving the interests of militaristic circles in Europe and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Italy intends to investigate reports that a person believed to be involved in the alleged Russian attempted attack at Leipzig airport is said to have entered the EU on a tourist visa issued by Italy.
All necessary investigations would now be carried out, Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani said on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Ireland.
In principle, he explained, there is a procedure for issuing visas and certain requirements must be met. If the individuals in question meet these requirements and there are no alerts on record concerning them, the visa is issued.
According to research by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of them is said to have entered the Schengen Area on an Italian tourist visa. According to the authorities' findings, the document was issued at the end of April at an Italian diplomatic mission in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
At the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Ireland, the reports sparked fresh discussions about a possible tightening of visa rules. If it were true that one of the suspects had travelled to the EU on an Italian tourist visa, this would demonstrate very clearly that the EU could be harmed through the use of visas, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said.
Many member states had already pointed out in the past that such tourist visas were being used for acts of sabotage because the perpetrators needed to gain entry to the European Union. She hoped that, should the information be confirmed, the current visa restrictions could be tightened. "Because this is actually also about our own security," she said.
Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, there have been repeated discussions within the EU about visa rules for people from Russia and partner states such as Belarus.
These rules have already been tightened on several occasions, but they still allow EU member states to issue numerous visas to tourists from those countries.
For example, Italian, French and Spanish consulates in Russia have recently continued to issue a six-figure number of Schengen visas. Critics accuse these countries of being unwilling to turn away wealthy tourists.