EU and NATO vow to step up pressure on Russia after new escalation in Germany

The European Union and NATO have pledged to intensify their pressure on Russia in response to a recent escalation in Germany. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the incident, which occurred at Leipzig airport, marks a new escalation on EU soil and vowed to respond to Russia's recklessness faster and better. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that the entire alliance stands in full solidarity with Germany.

Russia has dismissed German accusations, claiming the drone attack was not intentional. The drone was defused at the airport, but a second drone is believed to have collided with another cargo plane. A third drone was found at the airport weeks later. The German government confirmed on Tuesday that police investigations and intelligence findings pointed to Russian involvement in the incidents.

Two suspects linked to the attack have been identified, including a Belarusian with a Russian passport who entered Germany on a tourist visa, and another with Latvian and Russian passports who arrived by plane in Berlin and left two days before the attack. Germany has announced it will close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural institution, which is believed to serve as a Kremlin propaganda outlet.

In retaliation, Russia threatened to close Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural centers and hinted at the possibility of severing relations with Berlin. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko suggested that for now, they were giving diplomacy a chance.

EU foreign ministers met in Wicklow, Ireland, where France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said action could be taken against Russia's "shadow fleet" of ships carrying oil and other cargo. The EU is also considering extending sanctions and imposing entry restrictions on Russian visitors across the bloc. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they were working on tightening enforcement of existing sanctions and supporting stricter visa limits for Russian tourists.

Several EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, are pushing for the use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, with an estimated €193bn (£165bn) in question. The Leipzig attack is part of a series of increasingly dangerous incidents, including drones and interference with critical infrastructure. Mark Rutte highlighted the heightened risk to Europeans from drones and missiles crossing into Alliance countries, as well as malign activities targeting territory directly, such as sabotage in Germany.