MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has sharply rejected German accusations that Moscow was behind a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport, warning that the allegations represented a dangerous escalation towards what he described as a “real war.”
Germany concluded earlier this month that Russia was responsible for an attempted drone attack at the airport in August, an accusation Moscow has denied.
The dispute has rapidly widened beyond the incident itself. Berlin responded by ordering the closure of a Russian consulate and a Russian cultural centre, while Moscow subsequently announced plans to shut branches of Germany’s Goethe-Institut in Russia.
Lavrov accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of pursuing the militarisation of Germany and rejected what he described as fabricated evidence linking Russia to the drone operation.
Germany, meanwhile, is preparing a broader package of measures designed to strengthen protection against drone attacks and sabotage, including enhanced defences for airports and other critical infrastructure.
The confrontation marks a further deterioration in German-Russian relations, already severely strained by the war in Ukraine, sanctions against Moscow and disputes over alleged Russian espionage and hybrid operations in Europe.