Lavrov: Germany's accusations regarding the attack in Leipzig are “the beginning of a real war”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Germany’s accusations regarding Moscow’s involvement in an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport represent “broadly speaking, the beginning of a real war.” The statement was made after Berlin announced, on September 1, that Russia had allegedly been behind the incident that occurred last month. Lavrov accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of implementing plans to transform Germany into Europe’s main military power and stated that the German leader “is practically declaring war on us.”

The Berlin government ordered measures against Russia, including the closure of a consulate and a Russian cultural center in the capital. Moscow rejected the accusations, calling them unfounded and claiming that German authorities had planted evidence to assign responsibility for the incident to Russia. The Russian Embassy called the accusations an absurd and baseless provocation. As a retaliatory measure, Moscow announced the closure of Goethe-Institut centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg.