Germany accuses Moscow of the attack in Leipzig. Previous incidents and the bombs in Brandenburg

Berlin. A measured and firm tone, reassurances, but also the repeated use of the word ‘risk’ and the term ‘attacks’. The German government has openly accused Russia of waging a hybrid war against Germany, which is ‘guilty’ of supporting Ukraine in its defence. And two ministers in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government have announced countermeasures. The drone laden with explosives found at Leipzig Airport on 4 August alongside a Ukrainian Antonov (and two further drones discovered nearby a few hours later)? It can be attributed to Moscow, said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt at a press conference, explaining that Russia is behind many other acts “of destabilisation and disinformation, of which the rest of Europe is also a victim”. Europe, Dobrindt assures us, stands united alongside Germany.

“We will not be intimidated, our social cohesion will not be undermined, and our support for Ukraine will not waver,” echoed Foreign Affairs Minister Johann Wadephul, reiterating once again that Berlin is working to bring an end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The two ministers were in agreement, each playing the roles of the ‘good cop’ and the ‘bad cop’. “Germany remains a safe country” but “the attacks are not over” and “we believe that Russia intends to cause significant damage”. No scaremongering, yet “the events in Leipzig confirm that we are facing a high-risk situation”. Hence the countermeasures defined by Merz’s two men as “balanced and appropriate, given that we are not at war but are nonetheless the targets of daily attacks”. The decision, they explain, is a necessary one: in Leipzig, everything pointed to Russia: “The personnel, the technical equipment, the methods used”.

Wadephul therefore summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin to explain the decision to close the Russian Consulate-General in Munich, the last one still open (there were five in operation before the Russian invasion of Ukraine). The Russisches Haus Berlin, a cultural centre in the heart of the German capital considered, in effect, a hotbed of spies, will also be closed. This is on the diplomatic front. For his part, Dobrindt announced increased surveillance, as well as additional staff and resources for the police and intelligence services, in order to better protect the Federal Republic’s airports, stations and critical infrastructure. This includes, for example, the Turnow-Preilack power station (100 kilometres south of Berlin), where just yesterday – on the very day of the press conference announced several days earlier regarding measures to contain the Russian threat – several explosive devices were discovered. The perpetrators of the two major acts of sabotage at two power stations in Berlin in September 2025 and January 2026 are still being sought. The latter left 100,000 people in the dark and in the cold for four days.