EU’s Kallas calls alleged Russian drone plot ‘state sponsored terrorism’ as bloc mulls a response

The European Union’s top diplomat says that an attempted attack on a German airport blamed on Russia appears to be “state sponsored terrorism,” as EU countries weighed their response.

Yesterday, the German government blamed Russia for the attempted 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 drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane and the device was defused. The airport is a major international freight hub and is used for providing support to Ukraine. German officials said at the time that the incident posed a new level of danger.

“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 tells reporters before chairing a meeting of the bloc’s defense ministers in Ireland.

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