Russia orders German consulate closed in St Petersburg — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Russia ordered Germany to close its Consulate-General in St Petersburg, with the Russian Foreign Ministry stating all staff must leave the country by September 18, calling it retaliation for Germany's closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin.
- The latest escalation follows Germany's accusation that Russia was behind an August 4 attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where an explosives-laden drone was discovered near a Ukrainian aircraft at the freight hub used to support Ukraine before being defused.
- President Vladimir Putin rejected the allegation and accused Germany of planting evidence, while Moscow dismissed the claims as an "absurd fabrication," with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov going further over the weekend to accuse Germany of "wanting war again."
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday he would "not budge a single millimetre from my fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom against Russia as well," reaffirming Germany's role as one of Ukraine's key European supporters.
- Finland unveiled a 200-kilometre fence along its border with Russia to counter potential hybrid threats, with Interior Minister Mari Rantanen warning "it can change really rapidly, and that is why we need to be very prepared."
- The European Union has warned that incidents it attributes to Russian hybrid activity represent a serious security threat, with European governments increasingly raising sabotage concerns since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Why it matters: The consulate closure strips Germany of its last major diplomatic foothold in Russia and signals Moscow is willing to escalate cultural and diplomatic ties to the breaking point over the drone accusation. Merz's flat refusal to back down locks Berlin into its pro-Ukraine posture, while Finland's 200km border fence shows the drone row is accelerating a broader Nordic hardening against alleged Russian hybrid operations.
Ask SkimNews
