EU and NATO vow unwavering support for Ukraine following Russian sabotage attacks

BRUSSELS — The EU and NATO will not back down from supporting Ukraine despite attacks against European countries blamed on Russia, the leaders of the two institutions said Wednesday.

The rare joint statement came after Germany said Russia was behind a foiled attack on an airport used as a key logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine.

“This was an attack using military-grade material carried out by Russian operatives on European Union soil — we will not tolerate it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. “If the intention was to make us think twice about supporting Ukraine, I can tell you it has only strengthened my resolve; intimidation will not work.”

“If Russia thinks we will be divided by the threat, or if they think we will be deterred from supporting Ukraine, they are mistaken,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said. “Our unity is unshaken — our support to Ukraine is clear.”

He slammed Russia's moves as “reckless,” describing a series of recent actions including “drones and missiles” intruding into NATO airspace, “malign activities” such as fires allegedly set at factories producing defense equipment for Ukraine and Russia's “hybrid attack” against the east German Leipzig-Halle airport.

“The dangers Russia poses are clear,” Rutte said.

On Tuesday, Berlin attributed an attempted Aug. 4 attack in Leipzig to Russia. Three drones carrying explosive material were spotted at or near the airport, including one that was found near a Ukrainian Antonov plane used to ship munitions.

The remarks underscore growing tensions between Moscow and Ukraine’s Western allies as they increasingly blame Russia for sabotage and other hybrid attacks on their territory while continuing to send military aid to Kyiv.

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would “adopt much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kyiv’s war machine.”

Von der Leyen said the EU would send “rapid response teams” to help countries impacted by similar incidents and was “ready to impose” further sanctions against Russia. The bloc’s foreign ministers, who are meeting in Ireland on Wednesday, will discuss further measures against Moscow, she added.

The leaders also signaled that the response to Russian pressure would include more support for Ukraine.

Von der Leyen also confirmed EU countries were examining a new payment request of “several billion euros” by Ukraine to fund its air defenses, including buying advanced U.S.-made PAC-3 Patriot interceptors. Ukraine is complaining of a critical shortage of air defenses that's allowing Russian ballistic missiles to hit targets across the country. The request, first reported by POLITICO, will be examined by Commission experts on Sept. 7.