Germany's Merz plans to blame Russia for drone incident in Leipzig
Politico has learned that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing to hold Russia responsible for a recent attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport and respond with sanctions.
Source: Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, citing its sources, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Politico notes that Merz plans to blame Russia for the appearance of a drone fitted with explosives at Leipzig airport and respond with sanctions, in parallel with the EU's preparations for its next sanctions package.
The announcement is reportedly planned for the beginning of next week to coincide with a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Ireland, although it could come earlier if the chancellor decides.
Two of the sources cited by Politico compared Berlin's upcoming announcements to Zeitenwende 2.0 – the major change in Germany's defence policy announced by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to one source, the German government believes that expelling individual Russian diplomats or closing the Russian House Russian Houses are cultural centres established in other countries to promote Russia's language and culture and Russian education. They also serve as platforms for Russian state propaganda and soft power in Berlin would no longer be an adequate response to the Leipzig drone incident. Berlin believes the response should involve significantly tougher sanctions or further increases in military assistance to Ukraine.
Merz said on 25 August that there would be serious consequences for the incident in Leipzig, but he did not name those responsible.
In response to an official request for comment on these plans, the German government said it "does not engage in speculation".
"The only thing that matters is the official attribution made by the federal government at its own discretion and after weighing all the results of the investigation," the spokesperson said.
Background:
- On 4 August, a drone fitted with explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle airport near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft that was being used to transport military equipment.
- According to media reports, the German security authorities have almost no doubt that Moscow was behind the incident.
- US intelligence has linked the incident to Russia. The Russian Embassy in Berlin called the Leipzig incident a fabricated provocation.
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