Russia will close Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural centres, Russian newswires quoted ​Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying ‌on Thursday, after Germany blamed Russia for a drone incident at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.

Germany's response measures included the closure ​of a Russian cultural centre in Berlin ​and a consulate in Bonn. On Tuesday, President ⁠Vladimir Putin accused Germany of planting evidence in ​order to blame Moscow for the incident.

Lavrov said ​Russia would close the centres in the cities of Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, after Germany's decision to halt ​the operation of the Russian centre in Berlin.

A sign on the facade of the Goethe-Institut, Germany's cultural institute, in Moscow, Russia September 2, 2026.

"They (Germany) ​deliberately took this step - they could not have failed to ‌understand - ⁠which means the end of their cultural presence in Russia," Lavrov said, according to state news agency TASS.

The centres had stayed open "despite all the ​Ukrainian complications ​in our ⁠relations with the West," he added.

Russia's first Goethe-Institut opened in Moscow in ​1992, soon after the collapse of ​the Soviet ⁠Union. Following a diplomatic spat with Britain, Russia ordered, opens new tab the closure of its British Council in 2018.

On ⁠Wednesday, ​Lavrov's deputy, Alexander Grushko, said Russia ​would retaliate "very soon" for the closure of the Bonn consulate.

Reporting by ​Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Jekaterīna (Katya) Golubkova is a Tokyo-based chief correspondent covering Japan's commodities and energy security. She focuses on topics ranging from Japan's return to nuclear power to energy geopolitics, as import-dependent Japan pursues a nuanced diplomatic strategy to maintain ties with its long-standing suppliers while diversifying its energy sources. She previously led a multilingual team covering the Russian economy and business, including Western sanctions and OPEC cooperation, and received the Reuters Journalists of the Year Award in 2022. A Latvian national, she also speaks Russian and Japanese and contributes to Reuters' coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine. (Reuters)