Germany has formally accused Russia of being behind the drone found at Leipzig Airport on August 4, loaded with explosives and near a Ukrainian transport aircraft used to carry weapons to Ukraine.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul ended weeks of speculation and government reluctance to blame Russia, making the announcement during a 10-minute briefing in Berlin.
The drone did not explode, but authorities said it could have caused significant damage. The German government says Russia provided the expertise and equipment for the planned attack and that “low-level agents” were recruited.
Germany has announced sanctions against Russia, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn on September 18.
Wadephul said Russia would face a package of sanctions, adding that the German government believes there is a “need for appropriate and necessary action in this situation.” He said Germany would respond “to this hybrid attack in Leipzig with proportionate and measured, but at the same time decisive, measures.”
“We are not at war, but we are the target of hybrid warfare every day,” he said.
The EU expressed its “full solidarity” with Germany over the attack, while NATO assured Berlin that it would defend its members. French President Emmanuel Macron backed Germany’s move and the new round of European sanctions, saying, among other things, that “these hybrid attacks are multiplying across Europe. They cannot go unanswered.”
Source: The Guardian
