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Russia’s Lavrov calls accusations of Moscow’s involvement in Leipzig drone incident ‘start of real war’, TASS reports

By Thomson Reuters Sep 6, 2026 | 6:27 AM

MOSCOW, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that the ​accusations levelled at Moscow ‌by the West that it was involved in the drone incident at Germany’s Leipzig airport were, “by and large, ‌the ​start of a ⁠real war,” state ⁠news agency TASS reported.

“All these statements by Merz about making Germany the leading military power ​in Europe once again – they are being put into ⁠practice. He is, ⁠in effect, declaring war ​on us,” Lavrov said, referring to ​German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The German ‌government said on September 1 that it had concluded that Russia was responsible for an ⁠attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month and ordered a series of ⁠measures ‌in response, including the ⁠closure of a consulate ​and ‌a Russian cultural centre ​in Berlin.

Russia ⁠dismissed the German accusations as baseless, accusing Berlin of planting evidence to frame Russia for the attack.

(Reporting by ReutersEditing by ​Tomasz Janowski)