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In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President Vladimir Putin applauds at the plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Sergey Otroshko\/Roscongress Foundation via AP)<\/p>\n
Sergey Otroshko\/Roscongress Foundation via AP<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, attend the talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev\/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n
Vyacheslav Prokofyev\/Vyacheslav Prokofyev\/Pool Sputni<\/p>\n
Russia will shutter German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in a tit-for-tat measure that reflected soured relations and deepening tensions between Moscow and European countries that are helping Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion.<\/p>\n
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Lavrov’s announcement came after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted attack at Leipzig\/Halle Airport. Germany said it was closing both the Russian Consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital.<\/p>\n
Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption in their countries with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations, something Russian officials deny. Europe increasingly views itself as facing what it calls a hybrid war with Russia, marked by tools such as cyberwarfare and disinformation as well as a conventional military threat. Each side accuses the other of state terrorism.<\/p>\n
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The tension has continued for months and grown into one of the greatest foreign and defense policy challenges for countries in the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin is testing the West with tactics that fall \u201cjust below the threshold of war\u201d and is determined to \u201charass NATO members,\u201d the head of Britain\u2019s MI6 spy agency said at the end of last year.<\/p>\n
In Finland on Thursday, more than 2,000 people took part in the biggest civil defense exercise in Europe since the end of World War II. Among the threats envisaged were missile strikes from neighboring Russia.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Norwegian authorities seized a Russian vessel in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on Wednesday at the request of Ukraine\u2019s Naftogaz. The seizure was part of a global effort to enforce a $4.22 billion arbitration award and comes after a European push to seize vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which officials say contravenes international sanctions.<\/p>\n
Russia says German cultural presence is over<\/p>\n
Lavrov said that cultural centers belonging to Germany\u2019s Goethe-Institut would be closed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, adding that any other response would show a lack of \u201cself-respect\u201d on Russia\u2019s part.<\/p>\n
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Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Lavrov said that Germany \u201ccould not have failed to understand\u201d that the closure of Russian House would \u201csignify the end of their cultural presence in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
A drone laden with explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig\/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 and later defused. The airport is a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Putin has dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered \u201chas been planted,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
EU looks to respond after attempted attack<\/p>\n
European Union ministers on Wednesday weighed how best to respond to the attempted drone attack but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about this,\u201d EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc\u2019s foreign ministers in Ireland. They discussed sanctions, visa restrictions and shutting Russian consulates, among other measures.<\/p>\n
The EU has slapped almost two dozen packages of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, hitting more than 3,000 officials, oligarchs and entities including banks, energy companies and drone makers. The EU was already preparing to impose more travel bans and asset freezes on another 1,600 people, Kallas said.<\/p>\n
Germany insisted it was \u201cnot at war\u201d but had become a \u201cdaily target\u201d of the Kremlin\u2019s hybrid campaign. Putin dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered \u201chas been planted,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n
But German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul said Berlin had carefully prepared its response \u201cand now Russia must live with these consequences.\u201d He called on Russia \u201cto show that it is also ready for reasonable talks and negotiations, particularly regarding the situation in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denmark sounds alarm about Russian sabotage plans<\/p>\n
Danish security services are warning that Russian acts of sabotage against the country\u2019s defense industry may be imminent.<\/p>\n
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Danish intelligence services have seen signs of very specific planning by Russia to conduct sabotage operations in the country, Emil Gr\u00e6sholm, head of counterintelligence at the Danish national security and intelligence service PET, told the Berlingske newspaper in an interview published Thursday.<\/p>\n
The targets are primarily companies in the defense industry and especially those associated with delivering military components to Ukraine, he said.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Leipzig\/Halle Airport incident was \u201ca very serious act that could have very grave consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said the threats aren’t discouraging Italy from providing further help to Kyiv as Rome weighs whether to send SAMP\/T air defense batteries. As in other Western countries, weapons production capacity is hampering efforts to supply more to Ukraine, he said.<\/p>\n
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