German government escalates undeclared war against Russia

Leipzig drone incident used as pretext for further military action

by Tilo Gräser*

(18 September 2026) The German federal government is further escalating its undeclared war against Russia. The latest trigger is the drone incident on 4 August this year on the grounds of Leipzig/Halle Airport. According to the ARD Tagesschau, the German government claimed on Tuesday [1 September] that the findings of German and other Western security agencies “clearly pointed to Russian involvement”.¹ Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) reportedly made this statement at a joint press conference with Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul (CDU).

According to the reports, he did not present any evidence. Instead, mainstream media outlets such as ARD are constructing the circumstantial evidence with the help of government statements.² It is claimed that not all the “findings” can be made public, as the network allegedly behind the incident is still active. Whilst there is at least one suspect, the public is, to a certain extent, left to take the authorities’ word for it. Shouldn’t the public have a right to be shown, with facts, what and who is threatening them so severely? So severely, in fact, that Foreign Minister Wadephul even went so far as to declare in this context that Germany is a “target of war” for Russia. This is a serious allegation that contradicts everything the Russian government has stated on the matter to date.

What the German government is doing here is a dangerous escalation that is not only destroying the last remaining ties with Russia. In response to the alleged drone attack on Ukrainian transport aircraft carrying ammunition, it announced that the last Russian Consulate-General in Bonn would be closed on 18 September. It is also seizing the opportunity to terminate the German-Russian agreement on the Russian House in Berlin, which was concluded in 2011.

Leipzig Airport. Nothing has been proven, but the question of blame
seems to have been settled for the German government. (Picture www.
airportzentrale.de)

A side note: since when have civilian German airports been allowed to be misused for military transport?

Wadephul, for whom Russia remains “always an enemy”,³ went so far as to claim on Tuesday, amongst other things, that regarding the Consulate-General he was “not entirely sure” that “certain things might not be done there that could harm Germany’s security”.

He also claimed at the press conference that Russia’s leadership was treating Germany “with open hostility”. Regarding the Russian House, which has long been the target of political attacks,⁴ the man who holds the office of chief diplomat of the Federal Republic of Germany remarked that it “has long since ceased to serve the purpose of fostering cultural ties between Russia and Germany”. The only people to whom this statement applies are politicians like him, regardless of their party affiliation.

Hatred instead of culture

Anyone who makes such a claim about the institution on Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse has obviously not only never been there but also has absolutely no interest in cultural exchange or in the opportunities for people to meet and interact there, or to get to know Russia’s rich and diverse cultures. Such a person does not want culture and exchange to serve as an important foundation for peace. These are steps that not only indicate that a government is in office in Berlin – not the first – for which diplomacy seems to be a foreign concept. The dismantling of diplomatic and cultural ties is always, in part, an act of preparation for war.

This also means that the announced closure of the last Russian Consulate-General will make life even more difficult for people of Russian origin in Germany.

They must now travel across the country to the consulate at the Russian Embassy in Berlin for all consular matters. The Consulate-General in Bonn has already ceased operations, according to Russian media reports.⁵ This also makes it more difficult to maintain contact with families and relatives living in Russia. It also means that, according to the Federal Government, entry controls for Russian citizens are now to be further tightened.

The Russian ambassador, Sergei Nechayev, who was summoned to the Federal Foreign Office on Tuesday, described the allegations against Russia as “unsubstantiated, absurd and contrary to common sense”. A statement from the embassy read:

“Without presenting any evidence or arguments, the German authorities held Russia responsible for preparing the allegedly intended sabotage. Citing ‘Moscow’s increasing hybrid attacks’, the imposition of far-reaching sanctions was announced both at European Union level and bilaterally.”⁶

All staff at the Consulate-General and the Russian House, as well as their family members, were instructed to leave the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany as soon as possible. The German side described these steps as a “balanced and proportionate” response, whilst at the same time expressing the expectation that the Russian side would refrain from taking countermeasures. German institutions, such as those of the Goethe-Institut in Russia, now face the threat of such measures.

“Unprecedented escalation”

Nechayev emphasised “that the hastily cobbled-together provocation at Leipzig Airport serves exclusively the interests of the Kyiv regime, the militarist wing of the European political class and the major corporations of the military-industrial complex, which have an interest in further fuelling the conflict in Ukraine”. The measures announced by the German side constitute “an unprecedented escalation in Russian-German relations” and will not remain without consequences. Full responsibility for this lies with the German Government. At the same time, the Russian diplomat expressed his regret that the German authorities were continuing their “course of systematically destroying the once-solid foundations of Russian-German cooperation”.

All this is happening because of an incident whose perpetrators, despite all official government claims, have not been clearly identified. Among others, Erich Vad, a former Bundeswehr general and security adviser to ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, had expressed strong doubts at an early stage about the political and media explanations regarding the alleged drone attack. In an interview with the weekly newspaper Der Freitag on 14 August, he described the media and political reactions as “very irritating” and added, “this hysteria borders on satire”.⁷

Yet this has now once again become a matter of grave seriousness, forming part of the ruling political establishment’s war propaganda, which not only contradicts the Basic Law’s commitment to peace. It also further increases the risk of an actual war. Whilst the federal government cites “findings” from German and other “security agencies”, Vad pointed to the “not very professional” operational design of the drone incident in Leipzig. The former general criticised “a veritable political and media spectacle that undermines public trust”. He added:

“I simply ask: who benefits from this action in Leipzig and the hysterical reactions in Germany, the hasty finger-pointing and the calls for an alliance clause to be invoked?”

According to ARD, Wadephul’s response directed at Moscow on Tuesday was: “Our message to Russia’s leadership is clear: we will not allow Russia’s attacks to divide or intimidate us in our social cohesion”. The government would “resolutely” continue its course of supporting Ukraine and strengthening its own defences, the Foreign Minister was quoted as saying. To date, there is still no evidence to support the allegations against the Russian government.

Moscow’s response announced

The reactions from Moscow are clear: Berlin has strained relations with Moscow under a completely fabricated and far-fetched pretext. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made this statement on Tuesday. She announced that Germany would receive “an appropriate response” to the decision to close the Russian House in Berlin and the Consulate-General in Bonn.⁸

“Neither the Russian House nor our Consulate-General in Bonn has given the ruling elite a moment of peace for a long time. Now they have concocted a pretext. Very well – they will receive an appropriate response.”

The German government has presented “no convincing or credible evidence whatsoever” to support its allegations. “It simply doesn’t exist and cannot possibly exist!” said Zakharova, according to TASS. It was a fabricated pretext. Yet Berlin was “itself completely compromised, both by fuelling the conflict in Ukraine and by participating in terrorist attacks against civilians”, the spokeswoman explained, adding: “Moscow will respond to all anti-Russian decisions.”

In a comment on the Telegram platform, Zakharova drew attention to the historic date on which the German government announced the new anti-Russian escalation measures: 1 September is World Peace Day or Anti-War Day, because 87 years ago on that day, fascist Germany invaded Poland, thereby triggering the Second World War. The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry commented as follows:

“I just wonder: when the Berlin authorities made anti-Russian statements on 1 September of all days, did they ‘perhaps not think about it’ and thus once again display their stupidity and ignorance, or did they literally announce a return to their roots and ritually demonstrate their intentions? On 1 September 1939, Germany triggered the Second World War and, together with the countries of the Hitler Axis, killed 70 million people, including 27 million of our compatriots.”⁹

Against the interests of the German people

Germany’s accusations against the Russian Federation of having organised a drone attack on Leipzig Airport are a planned provocation. According to TASS, this was stated by the Chair of the Committee on International Affairs of the State Duma and Chair of the LDPR, Leonid Slutsky.¹⁰ Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz is deliberately escalating the situation to divert attention from domestic political problems, the Russian parliamentarian claimed.

The Russian House in Berlin is run by the Russian state agency Rossotrudnichestvo. Its director, Igor Chaika, told TASS that the measures taken by the German authorities amounted to a severing of cultural ties with Russia. This, he said, was not in the interests of the German people. “It is obvious that the German government is acting to the detriment of its people’s interests by attempting to destroy long-standing international cultural relations,” he said.¹¹

According to Chaika, since February 2026 alone, more than 300 false and unfounded reports about the Russian House have appeared in the German media. “Despite the measures taken by the German side, Rossotrudnichestvo will make every effort to ensure that humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Germany is maintained and that the peoples of both countries can continue to foster contacts,” Chaika told the news agency.

He emphasised that the activities of such institutions in any country are based on the principle of reciprocity. The 2011 German-Russian agreement, based on which the Russian House in Berlin operated, is a bilateral agreement. It also governs the activities of the Goethe-Institut in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. He would not be surprised “if not only the Goethe-Institut in Russia were affected by the principle of reciprocity, but unfortunately also many other bilateral initiatives”, said Chaika.

With this move, the German government is continuing its anti-Russian course and burning further bridges. Instead of building and securing such bridges and seeking paths to peace, preparations for war are being made not only with weapons but also through further ideological mobilisation. This is supported not only by other established parties alongside the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition. The established and opinion-forming media also support this course, as demonstrated in an extreme manner by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” correspondent Michael Martens, who wants to “kill more Russians”.¹²

Unconstitutional warmongering

Through its actions, the Federal Government, in the form of Chancellor Merz and his ministers, is not only violating the oath of office they took. Article 56 of the Basic Law states:

“I swear that I shall devote my energies to the welfare of the German people, promote their well-being, avert harm from them, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, fulfil my duties conscientiously and do justice to all. So, help me God.”¹³

This policy also contravenes the peace clause of the Basic Law.¹⁴ This is underpinned, amongst other things, by Article 26 [Securing international peace], which is to be quoted here in full:

“(1) Acts tending to and undertaken with intent to disturb the peaceful relations between nations, especially to prepare for a war of aggression, shall be unconstitutional. They shall be criminalised.

(2) Weapons designed for warfare may be manufactured, transported or marketed only with the permission of the Federal Government. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.”¹⁵

Yet no one holds to account those who break their oath of office and violate the Constitution. The former is deemed “not punishable by law”, meaning that any breach goes unpunished. As for the latter, constitutional judges would have to be found who could prove this to the government – yet there appear to be none of such judges at the Federal Constitutional Court.

“Not in our name!”

Regarding the pretext used for the current anti-Russian decisions – the drone incident in Leipzig – let us quote former General Vad once again from his interview with “Freitag”:

“One must be able to clarify such matters directly with the other side. For that, one needs channels of communication, the famous ‘red telephone’. Yet we are, after all, proud of the fact that we have not spoken to the Russians for years. Unlike the US.”

And so, the German government continues to prepare, unabashedly and unhindered, for the long-planned war against Russia, including the aid of drones.¹⁶ Addicted to war, they are steering the country further towards disaster, with no regard for the people in both countries or their interests.¹⁷ All of this is linked to an ominous resurgence of old enemy stereotypes and war lies.¹⁸ What is most alarming about this is that there is hardly any opposition or resistance to it from the general public.

* Tilo Gräser is a qualified journalist and a member of the “German Freethinkers’ Association”.

Source: https://www.freidenker.org/?p=26498, First published at “Tagesdosis” on 2 September 2026 at apolut.net

(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)

1 https://www.tagesschau.de/eilmeldung/bundesregierung-drohne-flughafen-leipzig-halle-russland-100.html?ref=apolut.net

2 https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/drohnen-flughafen-bundesregierung-100.html?ref=apolut.net

3 https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/article/kuenftiger-aussenminister-wadephul-russland-wird-immer-ein-feind-fuer-uns-bleiben-2320148?ref=apolut.net

4 https://globalbridge.ch/wenn-gespraechsfaeden-reissen-kultur-krieg-und-das-ringen-um-das-russische-haus-in-berlin/?ref=apolut.net

5 https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2026/09/01/29230777.shtml?ref=apolut.net

6 https://t.me/RusBotschaft/18385?ref=apolut.net

7 https://web.archive.org/web/20260823065940/https:/www.freitag.de/autoren/sebastian/puschner/erich-vad-ueber-den-drohnenangriff-von-halle-leipzig-diese-hysterie-grenzt-an-satire

8 https://tass.ru/politika/28066771?ref=apolut.net

9 https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/13752?ref=apolut.net