Germany has accused Russia of carrying out a failed drone sabotage operation at Leipzig/Halle Airport and announced Tuesday it would close Russian diplomatic facilities, escalating tensions after investigators linked Moscow to last month's attack.German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Russia's consulate in Bonn will be closed and the contract for the Russian House cultural center in Berlin will be terminated after German authorities concluded Moscow was behind the Aug.4 incident.Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said forensic evidence and intelligence findings tied Russia to the attack, in which authorities found a drone carrying an explosive device beside a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport.Officials said the explosive failed to detonate because of a faulty detonator.Germany also said it believes a second drone collided with a nearby cargo aircraft, while officials have linked the incident to what Dobrindt described as Russia's "well-established pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe."US INTEL WARNS RUSSIA COULD LAUNCH LIMITED ATTACK ON NATO ALLY IN EFFORT TO FRAGMENT ORGANIZATION: REPORTGerman police investigate after an explosive-laden drone was found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug.
4.German officials say the device failed to detonate.
(Hendrik Schmidt/DPA via AP)Russia has denied the allegations.The Russian Embassy in Berlin called the accusation "absurd," while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond in a "mirror-image" fashion to Germany's actions.The embassy later described Berlin's measures as an "unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations."In addition to closing Russian diplomatic facilities, Wadephul announced tighter entry restrictions for Russian nationals and additional measures targeting Russia's shadow fleet.
He also said he had summoned Russia's ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev.The announcement marks Germany's first public attrib...