Irina Scherbakowa, a co-founder of the Russian human rights organization Memorial and a resident of Berlin, has criticized the German government’s response to the Russian drone attack at Leipzig/Halle airport as insufficient. Speaking to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, she stated that “what the Federal Government has announced seems too little, considering what Putin plans.” She described the statement as sounding “somewhat helpless.”
Scherbakowa doubted that calling in the Russian ambassador and closing the Consulate General in Bonn would generate any concern in Moscow, noting that the Russian House has been closed for some time already. Furthermore, she argued that stricter entry regulations must be carefully implemented to ensure they do not disproportionately affect Russian dissidents or simply increase bureaucratic burdens. She expressed hope that these measures are merely the starting point of a larger response.
She pointed out that planning attacks has a strong tradition in Russia, and what is currently happening is a continuation of that trend. According to Scherbakowa, handling this hybrid warfare requires serious measures, such as strengthening security agencies and better protecting critical infrastructure. She stressed that the government needs specialists, professionalism, funding, and the backing of the public to achieve this.
