After Leipzig drone incident, Budrys urges tough retaliatory measures against Russia

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kęstutis Budrys, says the response to the drone incident at Leipzig Airport must go beyond expressions of support for Germany. He called for additional sanctions against Russian individuals linked to the infrastructure behind such operations.

Budrys also proposed reducing the number of visas issued to Russian citizens and restricting the movement of Russian diplomats within the European Union. He said the bloc should prevent people connected in any way with military action in Ukraine from entering the EU in the future.

The minister urged the EU to adopt its 22nd sanctions package as quickly as possible and impose restrictions on sectors that would hit Russia’s war machine hardest. He specifically called for energy companies that have so far been left off sanctions lists, maritime services and major companies, particularly financial firms, that still retain access to Western markets.

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The political price Russia is paying is clearly insufficient to make it stop carrying out such operations.

Germany said on Tuesday that Russia was responsible for the August 4 drone attack at Leipzig Airport. A drone carrying explosives and a detonation mechanism was found among Ukrainian cargo aircraft, but it did not explode. Lithuanian and European leaders expressed support for Germany.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was difficult to comment on the accusations because Germany had not provided evidence to support its claims. Budrys linked the requested measures to what he described as Russia’s escalation.

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We need to expand our sanctions and link them to Russia’s specific escalation.