The American President, Donald Trump, reaffirmed at the White House that the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, "has no intention of attacking" a NATO country. Trump said he speaks regularly with Putin and knows him well, repeating a position he had already taken at the end of August.
On the night of August 4, a drone loaded with explosives was found in the cargo operations area of Leipzig airport, near Ukrainian cargo planes. A second drone is believed to have struck a plane belonging to carrier DHL, and ten days later a third drone was found in a field in Kabelsketal, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Last Monday, the German government held Russia responsible for the "hybrid attack" and announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn, the cancellation of the contract of the Russian House cultural center in Berlin, and the summoning of the Russian ambassador. In response, the Kremlin dismissed the accusations as empty and unfounded, and announced the closure of all branches of the Goethe Institute in Russia.
Trump's position came shortly after a visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, which Trump described as "almost routine." The Wall Street Journal and CBS reported that the trip aimed to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, although the Kremlin denied any plans against members of the alliance.
