Lavrov describes Germany's accusations of the Leipzig airport attack as "the beginning of a real war"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the German accusations against his country of being behind an attempt to carry out an attack with explosives at the German Leipzig Airport as "the beginning of a real war."

The Russian minister said in an interview with Russian official television, excerpts of which were published today, Sunday (August 6, 2026), “They found there (at Leipzig Airport) a drone. They said it was a Russian drone. No one verified that. This, in fact, is the beginning of a real war.”

Lavrov referred to the sanctions imposed by Berlin on Moscow after holding it responsible for the attempted attack on the airport, “They expelled members of the Consulate General from Bonn. They are closing the Russian House (Cultural Center) in Berlin. I remember that these things happened before the outbreak of World War II.”

He added that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz "is moving towards declaring war against us. The lessons of history have not been learned," and he continued, "They want war again." He considered that "this is a dangerous phenomenon," noting that "the Russian government will reach the appropriate conclusions" regarding the Leipzig Airport incident.

“Practically, Meretz declares war on us.”

Lavrov said: “All these comments that Meretz makes about making Germany the leading military power in Europe again are being applied on the ground. He is, in effect, declaring war on us."

In early August, a drone equipped with an explosive device was found at Leipzig-Halle Airport near a Ukrainian transport plane. There was no explosion. Two more drones were later found. After four weeks of investigation, the German government at the beginning of this month held Russian intelligence services responsible for the attempted attack.

Moscow and Berlin took turns closing cultural centers after German accusations against Russia, while the European Union countries summoned their Russian envoys.

Germany is considered one of Ukraine's most prominent allies in the war that began with the Russian invasion of its territory in 2022.

The government of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz assumes that Germany has become the target of secret operations carried out by Russian intelligence services because of Berlin's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Germany invaded the territory of the Soviet Union in 1941, in one of the largest military battles during World War II, which constituted a turning point that ended with the fall of Berlin to the Soviets and the defeat of Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler.

Edited by: Imad Ghanem