Leipzig attack intensifies debate over new EU sanctions on Russia

For years, Baltic countries and other northern European states warned that Russian citizens could use tourist visas to enter the EU and carry out attacks. Italy, France and Spain often dismissed those concerns, unwilling to shut out Russian tourists who spend heavily. A failed drone attack on Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig airport has made that argument harder to ignore.

The scenario now under investigation in Germany closely matches those warnings. According to reporting by Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, one suspect holds both Belarusian and Russian citizenship and traveled to Germany on a tourist visa issued by Italy's embassy in Minsk. Investigators reportedly found his DNA on remnants of the explosives. Police databases in Finland and Lithuania also identified him in connection with earlier crimes.

The second suspect is Russian-born and also holds Latvian citizenship, making him an EU citizen. Both men have left Germany and probably the European Union, according to the report.

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broad support

The debate comes as Brussels works on its 22nd sanctions package against Russia. Kaja Kallas wants the measures ready for approval at the foreign ministers' meeting on Oct. 12 and has proposed adding about 1,600 people, state organizations and companies that support Moscow's war against Ukraine to the sanctions list.

Kallas said there was broad member-state support for a general entry ban on former Russian soldiers and for making visa issuance more difficult. Eleven Schengen countries had already pressed the European Commission in June, citing a rise in Russian tourist visas from 440,558 in 2024 to 477,878 the following year. Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell called the increase “insane.” The countries want common criteria across the Schengen area, but a complete ban remains politically unrealistic.

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insane