EU and Several Member States Summon Russian Diplomats Over Leipzig Drone Attack

Russian diplomats are facing coordinated protests across Europe after an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month. The European Union and several member states summoned Russian embassy officials over the incident, deepening an already tense dispute between Moscow and European capitals.

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This attack comes in addition to a long series of unacceptable incursions on the territory of other EU and NATO Allies in the past months.

Germany said on Tuesday that it had concluded Russia was responsible. Berlin responded with a series of measures, including the closure of a Russian consulate and a Russian cultural center in the German capital. Russia has rejected the accusation, saying it has seen no evidence to support Berlin’s claims and that it will respond.

EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that the bloc’s diplomatic service had summoned the Russian ambassador in Brussels. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he had called in Russia’s charge d’affaires in Paris to protest. He also argued that sanctions should be imposed at the European level, particularly against Russia’s shadow fleet.

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anti-Russian action

The Netherlands and Belgium joined the diplomatic action. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen called the Leipzig incident completely unacceptable and said he had summoned the Russian ambassador. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on X that he had also summoned Russia’s ambassador. “This attack comes in addition to a long series of unacceptable incursions on the territory of other EU and NATO Allies in the past months,” he said.

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fabricated provocation

Russia’s ambassador to Germany was summoned on Tuesday. Responding to Berlin’s measures, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond to what she called Berlin’s “anti-Russian action,” according to Interfax. She gave no details. The Russian Embassy in Berlin had previously dismissed the accusations as a “fabricated provocation” and part of a “new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany.”

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a new wave of anti-Russian hysteria in Germany