Germany urges EU to restrict tourist visas for Russians after Leipzig attack
Germany has called on EU member states to tighten restrictions on Russian citizens entering the bloc with tourist visas after a hybrid attack at Leipzig airport that Berlin attributes to Moscow. The appeal followed the discovery that one suspect in the attack entered the Schengen area on an Italian-issued tourist visa.
Germany's Foreign Ministry has urged European partners to impose stricter limits on Russian citizens seeking to enter the EU on tourist visas. The move comes in the wake of an attack at Leipzig airport, which Berlin has described as a hybrid attack and blamed on Moscow.
A ministry spokesperson said the number of visas issued to Russians for holidays in the EU was too high. Berlin's call was prompted by the finding that one of the suspects in the Leipzig attack had entered the Schengen zone under a tourist visa issued by Italy. The suspect is a Belarusian citizen who also holds a Russian passport. According to investigators, he received the visa at the Italian embassy in Minsk at the end of April, then traveled to Germany and took part in preparing the airport attack.
Sources close to the German government argue that the large number of visas granted to Russians runs counter to the spirit of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine. It also makes it harder to track who enters the EU and for what purpose.
Available data show that Italy issued more Schengen visas in 2025 than any other EU country. Together, Italy, France and Spain accounted for three quarters of all visa applications from Russian citizens. Last year Italy issued more visas to Belarusians than any other EU state, with the figure rising sharply after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to European Commission statistics analyzed by the Italian news site Linkiesta, Italy issued Belarusian citizens 2,968 visas in 2021, compared with 50,709 last year. A similar trend can be seen for Russia: the number of Italian visas granted to Russian citizens increased from 63,894 in 2021 to more than 165,000 in 2025, almost tripling despite the war.
