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Russia to shut Goethe-Institut branches in response to Germany closing Russian House

"They consciously took this step — they could not have failed to understand — which means the end of their cultural presence in Russia," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Russia to shut Goethe-Institut branches in response to Germany closing Russian House

Moscow plans to shut all three branches of Germany's Goethe-Institut in Russia following Berlin's decision to close the Russian House of Culture, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The closures come after a drone incident at Leipzig Airport on August 4th, where one drone struck a cargo plane and another was believed to have carried explosives intended for a Ukrainian Airlines Antonov cargo plane.

Western officials have accused Russia of being behind the attack, while Lavrov dismissed those accusations. In response to the incident and Berlin's actions, Russia has pledged to close all three Goethe-Institut branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.

Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

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