Russia Orders German Consulate Closed by Sept. 18 — SkimNews
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- Russia ordered the German consulate in St Petersburg to cease operations by September 18, with all diplomats and staff required to leave.
- Germany closed Russia’s consulate general in Bonn and the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin after accusing Moscow of orchestrating a failed drone attack on Leipzig Airport.
- Sergey Lavrov said Germany’s accusations marked the beginning of a “real war” and accused Berlin of wanting “war again” while calling the institutional closures unacceptable.
- Russia separately ordered all Goethe-Institut branches closed, directing their staff members to leave the country by Sunday.
- Germany has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in civilian aid and almost $67 billion in military assistance, making Berlin one of Kyiv’s strongest European supporters.
- Vladimir Putin dismissed the allegations that Russia was behind the Leipzig/Halle Airport attack, claiming without details that the evidence was “planted”.
Why it matters: The closure removes Germany’s St Petersburg consular presence by September 18 and follows Berlin’s shutdown of two Russian facilities. The retaliatory cycle also shuts Goethe-Institut branches and orders their staff out by Sunday, reducing the two countries’ on-the-ground diplomatic and cultural operations.
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