The European Union and NATO reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine on Wednesday after Germany blamed Russia for a foiled attack on an airport used as a logistics hub for military aid. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a joint statement rejecting what they characterized as Russian intimidation tactics.
"This was an attack using military-grade material carried out by Russian operatives on European Union soil — we will not tolerate it," von der Leyen said in Brussels. "If the intention was to make us think twice about supporting Ukraine, I can tell you it has only strengthened my resolve; intimidation will not work." Rutte said that if Russia believed the threat would divide Western countries or deter them from supporting Ukraine, "they are mistaken."
Berlin attributed an attempted August 4 attack at Leipzig-Halle airport to Russia. Three drones carrying explosive material were spotted at or near the facility, including one found near an Antonov aircraft used to transport munitions to Ukraine. Rutte described Russia's recent actions as "reckless," citing drones and missiles entering NATO airspace, fires at factories producing defense equipment, and what he called "hybrid attacks" on the airport.
Tensions have escalated as Western countries increasingly blame Russia for sabotage and other attacks on their territory while continuing military shipments to Kyiv. Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would "adopt much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kyiv's war machine."
Von der Leyen said the EU would deploy "rapid response teams" to assist affected countries and was "ready to impose" additional sanctions on Russia. She also confirmed that EU countries were examining a new funding request of "several billion euros" from Ukraine for air defenses, including advanced U.S.-made PAC-3 Patriot interceptors. The request will be reviewed by Commission experts on September 7, she said.
