Russia Shutters Goethe-Instituts Over Leipzig Drone Row
Russia Shutters Goethe-Instituts Over Leipzig Drone Row
The News
Moscow's answer
Russia will close German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Thursday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Associated Press reported.
Reuters reported the closures cover Goethe-Institut branches, the German government's cultural and language network. The Washington Examiner reported Russia intends to end "their cultural presence in Russia."
This is retaliation, and Moscow is not pretending otherwise.
German officials also said the Russian House cultural center in Berlin will lose its operating contract.
Timeline
The trigger: a drone at Leipzig/Halle
The German government said Tuesday that Russia was responsible for a failed attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4, the Los Angeles Times reported. An explosive-laden drone was found near a runway — The Independent reported it was found near a Ukrainian plane — and was defused before it detonated.
Berlin ordered the consulate closed — it isn't shut yet
Alongside blaming Moscow, Germany announced it would close the Russian consulate in Bonn, the Los Angeles Times reported. That is an order, not a completed act: the closure has been reported as taking effect Sept. 18.
Reactions
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the alleged plot bore the "hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism," Time reported.
Europe's uneven reaction
The EU has struggled to settle on a collective answer, the Los Angeles Times reported, even as Germany pushes to add Russian names to EU sanctions lists.
What's Next
What's next
How far Moscow's retaliation runs beyond the cultural centers is unknown. German officials have not publicly identified which Russian state entities they say directed the Leipzig operation.
More
Leipzig/Halle is not a random target. Legal Insurrection noted it is the main logistical hub for military equipment heading to the Ukrainian front line.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has called the German evidence far-fetched and promised a fitting response. Thursday's announcement is that response.
The row is also splitting Germany at home. The Guardian reported that the government's increasingly hostile stance toward the Kremlin has drawn criticism from both the far right and the far left, laying bare the country's polarization on Russia.
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, The Independent, Time, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, Legal Insurrection, WPXI.
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