Russia will close German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. The move comes after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle airport and announced the closure of both the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital. Germany’s Goethe-Institut would be closed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, adding that any other response would show a lack of “self-respect” on Russia’s part. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Lavrov said Germany “could not have failed to understand” that the closure of the Russian House “would mean the end of its cultural presence in Russia.” A drone loaded with explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle airport. on August 4 and then deactivated. The airport is a major international cargo hub used to support Ukraine. Putin has rejected the accusations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failures and dissatisfaction among voters. Any evidence offered “has been planted,” Putin said. EU seeks to respond after attempted attack European Union ministers on Wednesday weighed up the best way to respond to the attempted drone attack, but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means. “It is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about it,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Ireland. They discussed sanctions, visa restrictions and the closure of Russian consulates, among other measures. The EU has imposed nearly two dozen sanctions packages on Russia over the war in Ukraine, affecting more than 3,000 officials, oligarchs and entities including banks, energy companies and drone manufacturers. The EU was already preparing to impose further travel bans and asset freezes on another 1,600 people, Kallas said. Germany insisted it was “not at war” but had become a “daily target” of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign. Putin dismissed the accusations and said Berlin wants to distract from its own failures and dissatisfaction among voters. Any evidence offered “has been planted,” Putin said. But German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul said Berlin had carefully prepared its response “and now Russia must live with these consequences.” He called on Russia “to demonstrate that it is also willing to hold reasonable talks and negotiations, in particular in relation to the situation in Ukraine.” Denmark Sounds Alarm Over Russian Sabotage Plans Danish security services warn that Russian acts of sabotage against the country’s defense industry may be imminent. Danish intelligence services have seen signs of very specific planning by Russia to carry out sabotage operations in the country, Emil Græsholm, head of counterintelligence at the Danish national security and intelligence service PET, told Berlingske newspaper in an interview published Thursday. The targets are mainly companies in the defense industry and especially those associated with the supply of military components to Ukraine, he said. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Leipzig/Halle airport incident was “a very serious act that could have very serious consequences.” Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. But he said the threats are not deterring Italy from providing more aid to kyiv as Rome considers whether to send SAMP/T air defense batteries. As in other Western countries, weapons production capacity is hampering efforts to supply more to Ukraine, he said.
