Russia to shut German cultural centers as Moscow-Berlin tensions escalate over Ukraine
Earlier Thursday in Munich, several incendiary devices were thrown at a construction site near a building where several companies are located.
Moscow is closing German cultural centers in Russia as tensions escalate over Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced. This comes after Berlin blamed Moscow for a failed drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane. Lavrov announced that German cultural centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg would be closed.
Germany responded by closing its consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in Berlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Berlin of trying to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Several European countries, including Poland, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Czech Republic, and Lithuania, have summoned Russian diplomats.
Norway seized a Russian vessel in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard at the request of Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz energy group, as part of efforts to recover a $4.22 billion arbitration award stemming from Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
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