German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Russia was likely behind sighting of multiple drones over Germany’s airspace this weekend that caused widespread disruptions of Munich airport.
In a statement made to Reuters on Sunday, Merz said “our assumption is that Russia is behind most of these drone flights.” However, Merz explained that none of the drone appeared to be armed and seemed to conduct reconnaissance. Merze descrbed the drone incursion “espionage attempts” intended “to destabilize the population.” The chancellor added that recent airspace incursions in Europe exceed that seen during the Cold War in terms of their frequency. “But we investigate these cases regardless of who is behind them. They pose a serious threat to our security,” the chancellor said.
The Kremlin dismissed Merz’s suggestion that Russia had likely breached Germany’s airspace. “Germany has still not figured out the ‘flows’ - the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. They still do not know who carried them out. As for the drones, they will probably get around to it in the next century,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova said on Monday, while commenting on Merz’s remarks.
The drone sightings in Germany suspended the work of Munich airport, the largest one in Europe, on early Saturday. Around 10,000 passengers were stranded as dozens of flights were either cancelled or re-routed. The airport resumed operations hours later. The incident in Germany follows weeks of drone sightings in other European countries. Poland, Romania, Estonia, Denmark and Norway have reported Russia’s violation of their airspace in the past few weeks.
