WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russia will shutter German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in a tit-for-tat measure that reflected soured relations and deepening tensions between Moscow and European countries helping Ukraine resist Russia's invasion.
Lavrov's announcement came after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Germany said Wednesday it was consequently closing both the Russian Consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital.
Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption in their countries with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations, something Russian officials deny.
Europe increasingly views itself as facing what it calls a hybrid war with Russia, marked by tools such as cyberwarfare and disinformation as well as a conventional military threat. Each side accuses the other of state terrorism.
The tension has continued for months and grown into one of the greatest foreign and defense policy challenges for countries in the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin is testing the West with tactics that fall “just below the threshold of war” and is determined to “harass NATO members,” the head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency said at the end of last year.
European countries take steps to counter Russia's threat
The British government summoned the top Russian diplomat in London on Thursday to protest what it called Russia’s “egregious and reckless attack” on the German airport last month. The U.K. government called the incident the “latest in a clear pattern of attempts by Russia” to undermine European security.
In Finland on Thursday, more than 2,000 people took part in the biggest civil defense exercise in Europe since the end of World War II. Among the threats envisaged were missile strikes from neighboring Russia.
Meanwhile, Norwegian authorities seized a Russian vessel in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on Wednesday at the request of Ukraine’s Naftogaz.
The seizure was part of a global effort to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitration award and comes after a European push to seize vessels belonging to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, which officials say contravenes international sanctions.
Russia says German cultural presence is over
Lavrov said that cultural centers belonging to 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 that Germany “could not have failed to understand” that the closure of Russian House would “signify the end of their cultural presence in Russia.”
A drone laden with explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 and later defused. The airport is a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine.
Putin has dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered “has been planted,” Putin said.
EU working on response after attempted Russian attack
European Union ministers on Wednesday weighed how best to respond to the attempted drone attack but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means.
The EU has slapped almost two dozen packages of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, hitting more than 3,000 officials, oligarchs and entities including banks, energy companies and drone makers.
Germany insisted it was “not at war” but had become a “daily target” of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign.
Putin dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin aims to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered “has been planted,” Putin said.
Denmark sounds alarm about Russian sabotage plans
Danish security services are warning 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 conduct sabotage operations in the country, Emil Græsholm, head of counterintelligence at the Danish national security and intelligence service PET, told the Berlingske newspaper.
The targets are primarily companies in the defense industry and especially those associated with delivering military components to Ukraine, he said.
Italy’s 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 grave consequences.”
But he said the threats aren't discouraging Italy from providing further help to Kyiv as Rome weighs whether to send SAMP/T air defense batteries. As in other Western countries, limited weapons production capacity is hampering efforts to supply more to Ukraine, he said.
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Davies reported from Manchester, England.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
