Germany Closes Russia's Bonn Consulate, Seeks Baltic Task Force After Aug. 4 Leipzig Drone Plot
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 5
Germany Closes Russia's Bonn Consulate, Seeks Baltic Task Force After Aug. 4 Leipzig Drone Plot
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 5
Summary
Germany this week blamed Russia for an attempted Aug. 4 explosives-drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport and responded by shutting Russia's Bonn consulate, curbing the Russian House in Berlin and tightening entry controls.
Police findings, intelligence and the drone's explosives and detonation methods led Berlin to its conclusion, though it withheld details such as surveillance footage, travel routes and DNA evidence to protect the investigation.
Alexander Dobrindt is now pressing Baltic Sea partners to form a rapid-response task force to share intelligence and coordinate against drones, sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and strikes on critical infrastructure.
144 suspected drones were recorded near sensitive sites in Germany, France and the UK, according to an IISS report, underscoring what Berlin calls a daily Russian hybrid threat across Europe.
Russia denied responsibility as fabricated, while Germany separately investigates sabotage around power infrastructure, including interference that temporarily knocked 4,200 megawatts of lignite capacity offline without publicly tying those cases to Moscow.