Germany Blames Russia for Leipzig Drone Attack, Announces Retaliatory Measures

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul ended weeks of government hesitation and said in a briefing in Berlin that all indications showed the Russian state had provided know-how and equipment for the planned attack and had recruited "low-level agents" to carry it out. The drone, carrying 600 grams of explosives, was discovered on 4 August attached to the wing of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane used to transport weapons to Ukraine. It failed to detonate, but authorities said it could have caused a catastrophe.

Wadephul said Germany would respond with "proportionate and measured, yet equally resolute, action" and that the dangerous behavior of the Russian Federation was part of attempts at destabilisation, disinformation, threats, sabotage and aggression. "We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare," he said. Berlin regretted the poor state of its relations with Moscow.

The measures include closing the Russian consulate in Bonn later this month, removing the Russian House institute in Berlin from its rented building, clamping down on Russia's shadow fleet in the Baltic and North seas, drawing up new blacklists and tightening border controls for Russians entering Germany. Berlin also backs the European Commission's 22nd package of sanctions, covering 1,600 more companies and organizations with a Russian connection.

The Russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry to be informed of the consequences. The EU expressed full solidarity with Germany, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised support. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond to Berlin's "anti-Russian action," according to the Interfax news agency.

The government previously said it did not intend to involve NATO directly by invoking Article 4, but informed allies about the investigation and agreed on the planned consequences, Wadephul confirmed.

The announcement marks the lowest point in decades in relations between Russia and Germany, which were already strained over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It comes before elections in the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the war in Ukraine and ties with Russia are focal points. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland, which is pushing a pro-Russia agenda and seeking an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt, accused the government of double standards and urged it to apply the same rigor to investigations into the Nord Stream pipeline attack, for which Ukraine is alleged to have been responsible.