Germany Orders Closure of Russian Consulate in Bonn After Identifying It as FSB SVR GRU Intelligence Hub

Germany ordered roughly 60 Russian diplomats, including Consul General Oleg Krasnitsky, to leave the country by September 18 and to vacate the Russian consulate general in Bonn, according to Kyiv Post 1. Citing internal Brussels sources, Bild reported that 15 to 20 of the consulate's staff worked for Russia's SVR, FSB, and GRU intelligence services under diplomatic cover and that the facility served as a coordination hub for hybrid operations targeting the Benelux countries, EU institutions, and NATO headquarters in Belgium 234. The Russian embassy confirmed the closure deadline and said all consulate and Russian House staff and their families had been told to leave German territory, while the consulate property itself will remain in Russian ownership 2. The closure leaves Bonn as the last Russian consulate general in Germany after earlier closures of Russian consulates in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich, meaning Russia's Berlin embassy becomes its sole remaining diplomatic mission in the country after September 18 1. Berlin has tied the closure to a broader package of retaliatory measures following the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport in August, which German officials now attribute to Russia. Moscow responded by announcing the closure of its three remaining Goethe Institutes in Russia 2.