Foreign & Public Diplomacy

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Europe’s response to alleged Russian hybrid warfare, who is being blamed for the deadly Ceuta mass crossing, and Estonia’s multimillion-dollar defense spending scandal.

An ‘Egregious and Reckless’ Attack

Tit-for-tat retaliations between Russia and Germany appear to be brewing into a larger diplomatic war as European nations join Berlin in punishing Moscow for an attempted drone attack on German soil.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Europe’s response to alleged Russian hybrid warfare, who is being blamed for the deadly Ceuta mass crossing, and Estonia’s multimillion-dollar defense spending scandal.

An ‘Egregious and Reckless’ Attack

From right, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte give a press statement at European Union headquarters in Brussels on Sept. 2.Omar Havana/Getty Images

Tit-for-tat retaliations between Russia and Germany appear to be brewing into a larger diplomatic war as European nations join Berlin in punishing Moscow for an attempted drone attack on German soil.

On Aug. 4, local authorities discovered an explosive-laden drone near Ukrainian cargo planes at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, which serves as a hub for military aid to Ukraine. On Tuesday, Berlin formally blamed Moscow for the attempted operation, claiming that agents working “on behalf of Russian state entities” had controlled the drone.

As punishment for the alleged attack, Germany closed a Russian diplomatic mission in the city of Bonn, tightened restrictions on Russian travelers, and called on the European Union to impose greater sanctions on Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers and cargo ships. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Berlin of planting evidence to make the Kremlin a scapegoat for Germany’s political problems.

But the crisis has not ended there. A day later, the heads of NATO and the EU issued strong warnings against Russia, vowing to respond to this “new normal” of Russian hybrid warfare against Europe.

Europe and NATO “won’t just maintain our pressure on Russia. We will increase it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X on Wednesday, adding to a previous message pledging the........

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