Russia is fighting a war against democracy and freedom and the “obvious assumption” is that when things go wrong — like the closure of European airports by mystery drone flights — Russia can be blamed, Germany’s Chancellor said.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz told journalists in Berlin that Moscow is attempting to undermine the European Union, and while the two powers are not in a state of all-out-war, it is close. Merz, who is a centre-right conservative who decided to partner with the left rather than go into government with the sovereigntist-right earlier this year said of Europe’s relationship with Russia: “I’ll put it this way with a sentence that may seem a bit shocking at first glance, but I mean it exactly as I say it: We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either”.
“We are in a completely different world”, he said, while noting Russia is waging a “war against our democracy and a war against our freedom”.
Citing the recent rash of drone-sightings over north-west Europe as an instance of the hybrid warfare it is frequently said that Russia wages, Merz acknowledged “We don’t yet know exactly where they really come from”, but nevertheless determined “the obvious assumption is that they come from Russia”.
Germany’s Bild notes the drone sightings, which have shuttered several major airports for hours at a time due to the mid-air-collision risk, have caused a state of serious alarm amid European decision makers. Proposals have emerged to create a joint Europe drone defence system, and it is stated that Merz is looking at amending Germany’s aviation security laws to allow the military to assist the police in shooting down drones over Germany if necessary.
But in north-west Europe, which is some of the most densely populated country in the world, simply bringing down mystery drones is fraught with risk. Merz is reported to have said the could come crashing down into “someone’s front yard, a kindergarten, or a hospital. We have to be a bit careful about what we do there.”
Merz’s comment came amid similar remarks this week from Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of Britain’s internal intelligence agency MI5, who said Russia is engaged in “sabotage, intelligence collection, attacking people and so on” on European soil. The top spy suggested it was right to say “we’re already at war with Russia. It’s a different sort of war, but the hostility, the cyber-attacks, the physical attacks, the intelligence work is extensive.”
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