European and NATO leaders expressed solidarity with Germany after the attempted drone attack targeting Leipzig Airport on August 4, which Germany attributed to Russia. The leaders called for a coordinated response to the incident and stronger European deterrence.
European Council President Antonio Costa condemned the attempt in the strongest terms and accused Moscow of escalating its aggression. Costa said the European Union stood in full solidarity with Germany and that pressure would continue until Russia showed a willingness to change its position.
European Union prepares new sanctions
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had discussed the attack with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and conveyed the European Union's support. Von der Leyen said hybrid attacks would not be ignored without a clear response and that possible new sanctions would be prepared at the upcoming foreign affairs ministers' meeting during Ireland's European Union presidency.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also said he had spoken with Merz and reiterated the alliance's solidarity with Germany. Rutte said the evidence was clear, welcomed the measures announced by Berlin and stated that NATO would continue strengthening its capacity to deter and defend all its allies against threats.
Rutte said support for Ukraine would continue unchanged and that the commitment to NATO's collective defense remained firm.
European countries call for a joint response
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said attempts to divide or intimidate the allies would not succeed. Meloni said hybrid actions against any ally concerned all countries and would be met with a joint response.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb described the incident as part of a Russian strategy aimed at intimidating European countries and weakening support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia was increasing tensions in the region, pointing to incidents affecting Poland, the Baltic states, Romania and Germany.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said any hybrid action against an ally would trigger a clear response. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal described the incident as a new and dangerous phase in alleged Russian hybrid attacks in Europe and called for greater support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Russia.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he supported Germany's response and would chair a meeting of Sweden's National Security Council. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said hybrid attacks against NATO allies were unacceptable and would be met with a strong response.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the attempt was intended to intimidate Europe but would have the opposite effect, adding that Denmark stood in full solidarity with Germany. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar also conveyed his country's solidarity to Merz.
European support for Berlin's accusation
Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban said she was concerned by the number and intensity of alleged Russian hybrid activities carried out on European territory. Orban called for stronger resilience, unity and joint preparedness within the European Union and NATO.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger described the attempted drone attack in Leipzig, along with cyberattacks, sabotage attempts and disinformation campaigns, as a new escalation.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Berlin's attribution to Russia was extremely serious and called for Russia's ambassador to be summoned. Prevot supported the measures announced by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and said an operation involving explosives taking place on European territory constituted an extremely grave hostile act.
Prevot also said European and allied territory was not an area where Russia could act with impunity. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said unity among the allies was one of the fundamental elements of collective security and expressed full solidarity with Germany.
