German authorities are investigating how a gaping hole was cut overnight into a fence around Leipzig airport.
The unexplained damage to the fence took place at the same airport where an attack with an explosives-laden drone was attempted in August.
German authorities blamed that on Russia, an allegation denied by the Kremlin.
The damage was discovered about 11pm on Saturday, the DPA news agency reported.
Police said initial evidence suggested that a vehicle had ploughed through the fence along a publicly accessible road.
Emergency teams who searched the airport grounds did not find the vehicle or any intruder on site, the agency reported.
Authorities said it was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between the discovery of the hole and the earlier drone incursion.
Officers on Sunday could be seen inspecting the area around a large break in the chain-link and barbed-wire fence
Police confirmed a vehicle had broken through the fence but did not release details on the vehicle or its owner, saying only that skid marks were visible and that a comprehensive investigation was ongoing.
It remains unclear if the fence breach was accidental or on purpose.
"The vehicle that actually crashed through the fence was not witnessed but the evidence on the ground suggests that is what happened," police spokesman Dirk Eidam said.
When officers searched the airport grounds, they found neither the suspected vehicle nor unauthorised people or suspicious objects.
According to police findings, the vehicle had driven a few metres into the security area and then back out again.
Three Russian Antonov cargo aircraft have been parked at the airport since 2022 because of European Union sanctions placed on Russia.
They are not allowed to take off.
The damaged fence section and the planes are both in the northern area but not directly next to each other, airport spokesman Uwe Schuhart said.
with DPA