Anna-Lena Laurén: Russia exploits democracy’s slow pace

It took Germany almost a month to determine who was behind the armed drone at Leipzig airport. For Anna-Lena Laurén, that delay captures the advantage Russia gains from the caution built into democratic governments.

Germany wants to respond forcefully, she writes, but first needs to be certain of the facts. Democracies aim to act transparently and predictably. Dictatorships can lie openly, ignore rules and move without waiting for the same level of proof. Laurén presents the Leipzig drone as a blunt message from Moscow: “We are playing with you and you can do nothing.”

Ukraine, she argues, understands this dynamic better than the rest of Europe. The country is at war with Russia and, after 70 years of Soviet occupation, knows how the Kremlin operates. Ukraine’s response, in her telling, is to be just as uncompromising.

Laurén points to the Nord Stream explosions in September 2022. Suspicion initially focused on Russia, while the Kremlin blamed Ukraine. Later, she writes, the Russian leadership turned out to have been telling the truth in that instance. Few people believed Moscow, while many assumed that Ukraine, seen as a democratic ally, would follow the rules. European leaders, she says, forgot that war permits every available means.

Moscow has answered Germany’s claims about the Leipzig drone with repeated denials and counteraccusations. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Germany of terror against civilians, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Berlin was trying to escalate the situation. Laurén calls these accusations typical Kremlin projection.

EU leaders are discussing penalties against Russia. Germany is closing the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian cultural center in Berlin, while Russia will likely respond by closing the German consulate in St. Petersburg. Laurén depicts the coming cycle of measures and countermeasures as something the Kremlin anticipated and that will not deter it.

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We are playing with you and you can do nothing.