EU struggles to find an effective response after Germany blames Russia for a failed drone attack

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday weighed how best to respond to an attempted drone attack at a German airport blamed on Russia but struggled to find new ways to meet the challenge without resorting to military means.

The German government said Tuesday that Russia was responsible for the failed attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 using a drone laden with explosives and announced it would shut down a Russian consulate among other measures.

The nature of the incident and its attribution to Russia set a new benchmark. The drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and the device was defused. The airport is a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine.

“It is clear that it has all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. The question is: what do we do about this,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Ireland. They discussed sanctions, visa restrictions and shutting Russian consulates, among other measures.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France summoned Russia’s envoy to “protest strongly” and wants to impose sanctions on more of the Kremlin’s shadow fleet ships.

“We won’t allow an act of such gravity without consequences,” Barrot said.

A struggle to find more effective options

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.

Hundreds of ships making up the shadow fleet illicitly shipping oil to fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort have been targeted too. Russian diplomats have routinely been summoned around Europe, even expelled.

Russia has sometimes seemed immune to such measures. The challenge is how to respond effectively without going too far. EU member nations, many of them NATO allies, remain cautious about being dragged into open conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the incident “marks a new escalation on European Union soil,” and that her services “are looking at ways to cut deeper into Russia’s war chest.” She did not elaborate.

Not at war, but not at peace either

Germany insisted it was “not at war” but had become a “daily target” of the Kremlin’s hybrid campaign. Putin dismissed the allegations, saying Berlin wants to distract from its own failings and dissatisfaction among voters. Any proof being offered “has been planted,” Putin said.

But German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul said Berlin had carefully prepared its response “and now Russia must live with these consequences.” He called on Russia “to show that it is also ready for reasonable talks and negotiations, particularly regarding the situation in Ukraine.”

Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Germany’s envoy, Bernd Finke. It said he was told Russia “categorically rejects the completely trumped-up accusations leveled by Berlin regarding Russia’s involvement in the alleged incident at the Leipzig airport.”

“The actions of the German authorities will be met with a harsh response,” a ministry statement said, without providing details about what that might entail.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a yearslong campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

The failed attack in Germany is one of several worrying incidents reported across Europe. Recent ones include a fire this week at a major drone-making factory in Poland. Russia is suspected in many cases. There have also been drone incursions in Estonia and Latvia resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Concern about Russian attempts to divide the EU

Spain has publicly accused Russia, along with Israel, of using disinformation to incite migrants to cross from Morocco into its Ceuta exclave in northern Africa. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares accused some of his EU partners of echoing that fake information, without naming them.

“There are a lot of people outside the European Union that want to divide us, to make us weak,” he told reporters, clearly linking Spain's migration challenges to the incidents in Germany and elsewhere along Europe's eastern flank.

“The land borders of the south of the EU are as important as the eastern borders,” Albares said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband also attended the EU meeting, along with officials from Ukraine, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland.

“We see an attempt by Russia to divide us in Europe and to deter us from our support for Ukraine,” Miliband told reporters.

“This attempt will fail. It will fail because we will stand up to Russian aggression. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends in Ukraine,” he said, for “as long as it takes for them to prevail in this conflict.”

Some ministers also raised the idea of using billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help meet more of Ukraine’s military and economic needs. Attempts to do so last year failed as Belgium, where most of the assets are held, refused to be exposed to Russian retaliation alone.