Germany blames Russia for Leipzig drone attack

{"text":[[{"start":7.88,"text":"Germany has blamed Russia for orchestrating an explosives-laden drone attack at a key logistics airport last month as part of Moscow’s intensifying “hybrid warfare” against western targets."}],[{"start":20.54,"text":"German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday that a drone packed with explosives and found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport on August 4 bore all the hallmarks of a Russian attack."}],[{"start":34.48,"text":"“We are not at war, but we are a daily target of hybrid warfare,” he said."}],[{"start":40.08,"text":"The chance discovery of the drone, which appeared to have malfunctioned, shocked Germany. Although security experts quickly pointed to Russia as the likely instigator, Friedrich Merz’s government initially held back from assigning blame, as it has done following previous suspected acts of sabotage."}],[{"start":57.64,"text":"The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday said the incident bore “all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism”."}],[{"start":65.52,"text":"Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland, she said the EU had summoned the Russian ambassador. Several member states, including Germany and France, have also called in representatives or ambassadors."}],[{"start":78.16,"text":"Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said it was an attack “using military-grade material carried out by Russian operatives on European Union soil” that would have caused “enormous damage” had it been successful. “We will not tolerate it,” she said on Wednesday."}],[{"start":95.76,"text":"German officials and security experts regard the incident as an escalating threat. Berlin is Ukraine’s largest donor of military aid and Merz has pushed for tougher economic sanctions on Moscow for its war on Kyiv."}],[{"start":108.4,"text":"“There is a willingness to cause greater damage through hybrid attacks,” Dobrindt said. “In Leipzig, thank goodness, it did not go according to plan. But Leipzig is a confirmation of the high-risk situation.”"}],[{"start":121.24,"text":"He said investigators had attributed the attack to Moscow after analysing the drone’s technology, such as its “configuration,” the “various components, “the explosives” as well as the “ignition technology”."}],[{"start":132.88,"text":"The technology demonstrated “a high level of technical expertise and considerable organisational effort in planning and carrying out the crime”, Dobrindt said."}],[{"start":141.84,"text":"These findings point to “persons acting on behalf of Russian government agencies”, he added."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":146.96,"text":"Security expert Claudia Major, senior vice-president at the German Marshall Fund, said the government’s clear attribution reflected what appeared to be a “new quality” in the threat posed by Russia in Europe."}],[{"start":157.64,"text":"“The threat is clearly getting to another level,” she said. “It is excellent news that the German government is opting for clarity.”"}],[{"start":164.8,"text":"Mark Rutte, secretary-general of Nato, said that “Russia has grown increasingly reckless . . . if they think we will be deterred from supporting Ukraine, they are mistaken”."}],[{"start":174.92,"text":"Foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the Russian consulate in Bonn would be closed. The government would also tighten entry rules for Russian nationals and increase pressure on Russia’s shadow oil fleet, he added."}],[{"start":186.6,"text":"Wadephul said the “Russian House”, a Berlin cultural centre that has faced allegations of links to Russian intelligence, would also be closed. The centre is part of Rossotrudnichestvo, a soft-power agency overseen by Russia’s foreign ministry that was sanctioned by the EU in 2022 after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian Houses in several countries subsequently closed."}],[{"start":209.52,"text":"Berlin is also planning to push for more severe EU sanctions against Moscow."}],[{"start":214.08,"text":"“Germany is continuing down the path of escalation, that is obvious,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday."}],[{"start":221.88,"text":"Russian President Vladimir Putin said in televised comments that evidence of Russia’s involvement was “planted”."}],[{"start":227.4,"text":"“The actions of the German authorities are primarily linked to the domestic political situation. There are obvious economic miscalculations, businesses are closing, people are losing their jobs and living standards are falling.”"}],[{"start":239.8,"text":"Additional reporting by Anastasia Stognei, Jude Webber and Laura Dubois"}],[{"start":247.91,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788396653_8795.mp3"}