Germany closes Russian consulate in Bonn after Leipzig airport attack attempt

Berlin is moving from accusations to concrete action after an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Germany says preliminary investigation findings indicate that Russia tried on Aug. 4 to destroy a Ukrainian An-124 transport aircraft with drones. The attempt failed.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned, “They will pay for this.” One of the measures announced Tuesday is the closure of Russia’s Consulate General in Bonn, described as the largest Russian consular mission of its kind in the world.

The Bonn consulate became more important after Germany closed four of Russia’s five consulates in May 2023. Berlin took that step after Moscow demanded a reduction in the number of German diplomats in Russia. Since then, each country has been represented by an embassy and one consulate.

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They will pay for this.

The closure is likely to affect Russian citizens in Germany more than German travelers to Russia. German travel to Russia has fallen considerably since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, reducing demand for Russian visas among Germans. The number of Russian passport holders in Germany is not known, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand to several million.

The consulate has already announced that “appointments for applicants in all consular matters are canceled.” Access to consular services will become significantly more difficult. Moscow may respond by closing Germany’s consulate in St. Petersburg.

The Bonn site also carries historical weight. It stands in Bad Godesberg, a former diplomatic district when Bonn served as West Germany’s capital. The property once housed the residence of the first federal president before passing to the Soviet embassy in the early 1970s. New buildings were completed in the late 1980s, and the Russian Embassy operated there until the German government moved to Berlin in the late 1990s. The diplomats will return to Russia, while the buildings are expected to remain empty and Germany will continue covering their costs.

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Appointments for applicants in all consular matters are canceled.