Germany considers shutting down Berlin's “Russian House” after Leipzig airport drone incident
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The German government is considering closing the state-run "Russian House" cultural center in Berlin (Photo: Wikipedia)
The German government is considering closing the state-run "Russian House" cultural center in Berlin following an incident where a Russian drone targeted a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig/Halle airport, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on August 21.
Berlin is considering suspending the operating agreement for the cultural center. While German officials have yet to publicly blame Moscow for the Leipzig airfield attack, intelligence authorities are reportedly leaning toward that theory.
Located on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse, the Russian House is officially registered as a cultural center, but German security forces suspect it serves as a cover for intelligence operations.
The Russian House operates under a dual legal framework: a May 2013 land-use agreement granting Russia a 99-year lease in Berlin, and a February 2011 intergovernmental accord allowing for a review or termination every five years. Germany’s next opportunity to cancel the cultural agreement falls on June 7, 2027.
Berlin previously hesitated to cancel the agreement because it also covers German cultural institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Officials fear that moving against the Berlin center would provoke Russia into shutting down the Goethe-Institut's offices in Russia.
A preliminary decision on the government's next steps could come as early as next week during a scheduled two-day cabinet meeting in Neuhardenberg, Spiegel added.
The Leipzig airport drone incident
A drone fitted with a detonator and explosive material was found overnight on August 5 at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, which has served as a base for Ukrainian Antonov aircraft since 2022. The drone was discovered on a runway near a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan cargo plane.
Flights were diverted because of the incident. One DHL cargo aircraft delayed its landing and made an additional circuit after colliding in the air with an unidentified object that may have been another drone, pilots later confirmed.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on August 6 that the incident did not appear to be the work of amateurs and that a foreign state could have been involved.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said no one was injured and that aircraft operated by Ukrainian company Antonov were not damaged.
Media reports said the drone had been found near an An-124 loaded with ammunition, but Germany’s Interior Ministry denied that claim.
U.S. officials familiar with intelligence assessments of the incident told The Wall Street Journal that the explosive-laden drone was likely linked to the Russian government.
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