Germany unveiled several retaliatory measures it will take against Russia on Tuesday after officially blaming Moscow for the explosive drone found at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport.
The Leipzig-area airport briefly closed in early August after German authorities found an explosive-laden drone along with a detonator at the facility, which is also where Ukrainian transport aircraft frequently land. Initial reports suggested that Russia was behind the incursion, but the German government did not confirm the reports until Tuesday.
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“Intelligence gathered by our own agencies and partner services, as well as findings from investigations in Germany and among our European partners, clearly point to Russian involvement in these planned, executed, and also thwarted hybrid activities,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said at a Tuesday press conference.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Johann Wadephul announced that Berlin will take a series of actions to clap back at the Kremlin over the incursion, including pushing for increased European Union sanctions on Russians involved in the attacks, tightening entry controls for Russian nationals, and cracking down on Russia’s shadow fleet.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X on Tuesday that the EU “stands in full solidarity with Germany in the face of this attack by Russia.” On the point about tightened sanctions, von der Leyen said they will be “prepared by Foreign Ministers at their upcoming meeting under the Irish Presidency.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who said he spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, also stood behind Germany and called the alliance’s defense support “ironclad” in the wake of the hybrid attack.
“I welcome the measures announced by Germany in response. NATO will continue to strengthen our ability to deter and defend all Allies against any threat – including malign actions like those seen in Leipzig and elsewhere across the Alliance,” Rutte said in his statement.
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Wadephul also said Berlin will move to close the last Russian Consulate in Germany in Bonn on Sept. 18 and terminate the agreement for the Russian House of Science and Culture in the capital city.
Dobrindt clarified that Germany is “not at war” with Russia, but instead “a daily target of hybrid attacks” as Russia wages war directly with Ukraine.
