Lavrov on accusations levelled at Russia over incident at Leipzig Airport: "This is start of real war"
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, stated that the West’s accusations against Russia over the drone incident at Leipzig Airport mark the start of a real war.
This is reported by Censor.NET, citing Russian media.
"They want war again"
"This is, in essence, the start of a real war. They’ve expelled the Consulate-General from Bonn… The ‘Russian House’ in Berlin is being closed down. "I remember that before the start of the Second World War – or, to be more precise, the Great Patriotic War – the Germans also closed their diplomatic missions… They want war again," Lavrov remarked.
He also expressed his confidence that "the Russian leadership will draw conclusions" from the statements made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"He is, in essence, coming to declare war on us. And the lessons of history have not been learnt at all. It turns out that these metastases of Nazism are beginning to resurface. This is a dangerous phenomenon. I believe the Russian leadership will draw the appropriate conclusions," said the Russian Foreign Minister.
What led up to it
- It was previously reported that a drone was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft at the airport on the night of Tuesday 4 August. It was equipped with explosives and a detonator. According to Die Zeit, the aircraft in question is an Antonov, which is believed to belong to the Ukrainian Air Force.
- NATO has confirmed that it is aware of this incident. The German police deployed a bomb-disposal robot to retrieve the drone.
- Subsequently, German media reported that
the Ukrainian cargo aircraft, next to which a drone containing explosives had been found at Leipzig/Halle Airport, was carrying ammunition.
- US intelligence believes that the drone carrying explosives, which was discovered at Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany, probably belongs to the Russian Federation.
- On 1 September, Germany officially stated that Russia was responsible for the incident involving a drone carrying explosives near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The country has decided to terminate its agreement with the ‘Russian House’ in Berlin and to tighten controls on Russians entering the country. On 18 September, the Russian Consulate-General in Bonn will cease operations.
- German investigators have identified two possible suspects – men with links to Russia.
