Author, Paul Kirby
Place of work, BBC Europe Editor
Published 2 hours ago
Reading time: 5 min
This is a translation of material published in English. The original can be read here.
The heads of NATO and the European Commission warned that Russia was acting increasingly recklessly and promised to respond to the “new normal” that had emerged in Europe. The announcement comes after Germany yesterday blamed Russia for a failed drone attack on Leipzig airport last month.
“Leipzig marks a new escalation on the territory of the European Union, for which responsibility lies directly with Russia,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We must step up our efforts, and that means responding more quickly and effectively to Russia’s reckless actions.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the entire alliance, including the United States, expresses “full solidarity with Germany.”
Russia has rejected Berlin's accusations that an explosive-laden drone deliberately tried to attack a Ukrainian cargo plane on August 4.
One drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport was neutralized by a robot, and a second one is believed to have collided with another cargo plane.
It is reported that 10 days later a third drone was discovered at the airport. Leipzig/Halle is an important NATO logistics hub and is regularly used by Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft.
It was only on Tuesday that the German government said police investigations and intelligence had implicated Russia in the incidents.
According to the interior minister, the drone's design, components, explosives and detonator have already been encountered in other Russian hybrid operations.
Two suspects have reportedly been identified in the Leipzig attack. One of them is a citizen of Belarus with a Russian passport who entered the country on a tourist visa. The second has Latvian and Russian passports: he flew to Berlin, and two days before the failed attack he left Germany by plane.
Berlin said it would close the Russian consulate in Bonn, as well as the Russia House cultural center, which many in Germany consider a tool of Kremlin propaganda.
The Russian Foreign Ministry promised to take “mirror” measures and said that Berlin had not provided any evidence to support its accusations.
German Charge d'Affaires Bernd Finke was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where he was told that Moscow does not accept Berlin's "completely groundless accusations."
Vladimir Putin called Germany's measures a serious mistake that "clearly contradicts the interests of the German people."
When asked whether Moscow is ready to completely sever diplomatic relations with Berlin, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko replied: “Possibly.” However, he added that for now Moscow intends to give diplomacy a chance.
In Germany itself, critics found the government's response relatively mild. However, Berlin is counting on more coordinated actions with its allies, including expanding EU sanctions and tightening restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens into the bloc.
Von der Leyen explicitly stated that the attack in Leipzig used “military materials” and that the operation itself was carried out by “Russian agents on the territory of the European Union.”
“We will not put up with this,” she emphasized.
While von der Leyen met with Rutte in Brussels, EU foreign ministers gathered in Wicklow, Ireland. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault said that the European Union may take action against the so-called Russian shadow fleet - ships transporting oil and other cargo bypassing European sanctions.
Barrot and the foreign ministers of Belgium and the Netherlands said they had summoned Russian ambassadors to protest the attack.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Russia obviously does not believe that it can pay a serious political price for conducting hybrid operations against European allies.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, said that the EU is working to tighten control over compliance with existing sanctions. According to her, proposals to ban former Russian military personnel from entering the European Union and further restrict the issuance of visas to Russian tourists also received widespread support.
Several EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, are in favor of using more than €193bn (£165bn) of frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. The plan was first discussed at the end of 2025, but was rejected by Belgium, where much of the funds are located. Brussels' position has not changed: Belgian authorities fear that the courts may hold the country financially responsible.
Von der Leyen said the Leipzig attack was part of a wider series of increasingly dangerous incidents, including the use of drones and interference with critical infrastructure.
Mark Rutte also said that the threat to Europeans from drones and missiles crossing the borders of countries on NATO's eastern flank has increased. In addition, “hostile actions directly directed against our territory” have become more frequent, from arson at enterprises producing military products for Ukraine to a “Russian hybrid attack in Leipzig.”
In the last 24 hours alone, several suspected acts of sabotage have occurred in Germany, including two attacks on energy infrastructure facilities - in the east of the country and in the west, near Cologne.
Authorities have not yet established who is behind these incidents. However, North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said that the damage to power lines in Bergheim in western Germany was deliberate and that the attackers had effectively targeted the entire country.
“We are considering two versions: sabotage organized by a foreign state and left-wing extremism,” he said.
Five power units at two coal-fired power plants had to be shut down due to damage to several power lines. Police found six launch devices in a field near the property.
High-voltage power lines near the Jenschwalde coal power plant in Brandenburg were also damaged early Tuesday morning. Later, explosive devices were discovered at one of the substations.
Meanwhile in neighboring Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a fire at a military drone factory in Skarzysko-Kamienna, about 140 km south of Warsaw, was the result of deliberate arson and sabotage. The possibility of arson is also not excluded in connection with the fire at the enterprise in Lublin on Sunday night.
Von der Leyen promised that Europe and NATO will not only maintain pressure on Moscow, but also increase it - “and we will not stop until Russia stops bombing and killing civilians in Ukraine.”
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