US Ambassador Whitaker calls on NATO partners to take decisive action against hybrid attacks

The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has called on allies not to tolerate hybrid attacks and promised his government's support. The attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport is more worrying than just stray Russian drones, he said on the sidelines of an event in Italy.

The NATO states must be vigilant and send a clear signal as soon as the perpetrators of hybrid warfare are identified. "If we can find out who is behind this - as Germany did - then let's make sure we make it clear that this is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it," Whitaker said.

Critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, could also be targeted. According to Whitaker, national authorities should monitor these. Although it is primarily a national task to respond to attacks of this kind, the USA is committed to supporting the affected countries.

Chancellor Merz says: “We are firmly determined to defend ourselves”

Chancellor Friedrich Merz also announced again that he would react decisively to the “hybrid warfare” against Germany. "Anyone who attacks us must know: We are determined to defend our constitutional state, our democracy, our open society, also the integrity of our territory, we are determined to defend ourselves," he said at an election campaign event near Hanover after the failed drone attack on Leipzig Airport.

The incident has now been clearly identified and “legally accepted”. The federal government blames Russia for the attempted attack and expects further hybrid attacks from Russia. Russia rejects this.

In a comparison with the Cold War era, Merz emphasized that it is important today, as then, to stay the course: "Just as it was right that in 1982/83 a Union-led federal government gave a clear answer to the threat to our freedom, to the threat to our territory, to the threat to our democracy, it is just as right today that we give a clear answer again and that we remain steadfast."