Diplomatic escalation... What is happening between Russia and Germany?

Russia announced the closure of Germany’s general consulate in St. Petersburg and all Goethe Institute centers on its territory, in response to similar measures taken by Berlin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a statement that Moscow had withdrawn its approval for the continued operation of the German consulate, demanding that activities cease and staff depart by no later than September 18.

Russian authorities also ordered the closure of all German Goethe Institute centers and the departure of their staff from the country by September 13.

These measures were taken in response to Germany’s decision to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the "Russian House," the Russian cultural center in Berlin.

Berlin took its decisions after blaming Moscow for an attempted attack using a drone loaded with explosives at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany.

The drone was discovered on August 4 inside the airport’s security zone, near an Ukrainian cargo plane, before being dismantled.

The German federal prosecutor described the incident as a "serious attack on Germany’s transportation infrastructure and logistics services," while the German government announced on September 1 that Russia was behind the attempted attack.

Moscow denied the German allegations, calling them "silly fabrications," and blamed Berlin for the deterioration of bilateral relations.