The Russian Embassy in Ireland has accused the Government of “copy-pasting EU conspiracy theories” regarding an attempted drone attack in Leipzig that Germany attributed to Russia.
Yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador in response to the incident, with a meeting taking place earlier today.
In a statement, the Russian Embassy said the Irish side “repeated insinuations by the German government” regarding the alleged attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport.
It said Ambassador Yuriy Filatov “categorically rejected allegations of a Russian connection to the incident”, adding that any claims of Russian involvement in any hybrid activities in Europe are “absolutely unfounded and misplaced”.
The embassy said that the allegations served as a way “to build up the case for the so-called ‘Russian threat’ to Europe, needed to justify the ongoing war effort by the West against Russia and creeping militarisation of the European Union”.
“Anti-Russian escalation by the European governments, including the Irish one, is not the way to bring an end to this conflict,” the embassy concluded.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.
Allies rallied around Germany after it blamed the 4 August attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport on Russia.
Along with Ireland, the EU also summoned Russia’s top diplomat in Brussels over the incident.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul welcomed an “impressive display of solidarity” as he met Polish and French counterparts, adding: “I believe that its impact has not gone unnoticed in Moscow, either.”
Separately, German authorities said that defence firm offices in Munich were targeted in an overnight arson attack.
Police arrested two people suspected of throwing incendiary devices and causing a fire at a construction site at the headquarters of Rohde & Schwarz, whose products include radar systems to detect, track and jam drones.
The suspects, a 28-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both Bulgarian, were arrested at a nearby petrol station, police in the state of Bavaria said.
The fire caused no significant damage and no one was injured, according to officials.
Rohde & Schwarz confirmed a police and fire brigade operation near its premises.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev promised cooperation but declined to give details.
The attack came days after two sabotage attempts on the power grid and a month after an airport drone attack in Leipzig.
This week, police investigated two attempts to sabotage the electricity grid within 24 hours in the states of Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia.