Germany to Close Russia’s Last Consulate in the Country

Germany is closing Russia’s last consular mission in the country, turning a dispute over an alleged planned drone attack into another rupture in Berlin and Moscow’s already strained diplomatic relationship.

The German government said it was acting on initial findings from an investigation into a planned drone attack targeting Leipzig Airport. Berlin accused Russia of trying to use unmanned aircraft to blow up a Ukrainian transport plane. After the incident, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, "They will pay the price."

The Bonn consulate general is Russia’s last consular representation in Germany. Berlin had already closed four of Russia’s five consulates operating in the country in May 2023, in response to Moscow’s demand that Germany reduce the number of its diplomats in Russia. Since then, the two countries have each maintained one embassy and one consulate. Russia has given its diplomats three weeks to leave, according to the description of the decision.

The closure is expected to affect Russian citizens living in Germany most directly. Although the number of Germans visiting Russia and visa applications has fallen sharply since Russia began its attacks on Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russian residents in Germany reportedly use the Bonn mission for passports, civil-status documents and other consular matters. The consulate said it had canceled appointments for all consular services after the decision.

The site also carries diplomatic and historical weight. The compound in Bonn’s Bad Godesberg district stands in an area once known as the diplomats’ quarter, when Bonn served as West Germany’s capital. The Soviet Union bought the land in the early 1970s, and construction finished in the late 1980s. The Russian Embassy operated there until the federal government moved to Berlin in the late 1990s. The buildings may now stand empty, but international law on diplomatic property requires them to be maintained.

The mission had previously surfaced in a spying case. Former German armed forces officer Thomas H. received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2025 for spying for Russia. He reportedly approached the Bonn consulate on his own initiative and offered to share information.

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They will pay the price.