Moscow is set to shut down all branches of Germany’s Goethe-Institut cultural centres in Russia, according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The action is a tit-for-tat move in response to the German government’s closure of the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin and the Russian consulate in Bonn.
“They deliberately took this step, which means the end of their cultural presence in Russia,” Lavrov declared at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
The German authorities’ decision, announced on Tuesday, was in protest of an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August, an incident Berlin blamed on Moscow.
The United Kingdom, NATO and regional allies have sided with Germany, but Russia denies any wrongdoing, with President Vladimir Putin claiming the evidence was planted.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted that Russia tried to hit cargo planes at the airport, which could have resulted in enormous damage and possibly loss of life.
“This was an attack using military-grade material, carried out by Russian operatives on EU soil,” Leyen stated at a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Brussels.
The top official vowed that Europe and NATO would further increase the pressure on Russia until it “stops bombing and killing innocent children, men and women in Ukraine”.
Leyen said allies must treat key infrastructure as frontline targets and protect it, noting that the EU’s Rapid Response Teams can respond to attacks within or outside the union.
The diplomat, however, confirmed a new payment request worth several billion euros to cover Ukraine’s air defences, including PAC-3 Patriot air defence systems.