Ukraine seeks global crackdown on Russian "Russky Dom" cultural centers as Berlin branch closes

なぜ重要か

Sybiha's appeal formalizes Ukraine's push for a coordinated global response to Russian state-linked cultural and diplomatic infrastructure abroad, framing "Russky Dom" centers not as cultural institutions but as instruments of disinformation, destabilization and espionage.

何が起きたか

On September 19, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced via the social network X that Ukraine had officially appealed to governments of countries around the world where the network of Russian "Russky Dom" (Russian House) cultural centers operates. Ukraine called on those governments to recognize the threat these centers pose to national security and to take measures to restrict their activities and shut them down entirely. Sybiha characterized the centers as tools of disinformation, destabilization and espionage, and noted that despite a wave of closures they continue to operate in at least seven European countries, with the network's activity even larger in Africa, Central and East Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and South America. He also said that in some countries the official infrastructure of the network remains untouched, and in some states "Russky Dom" is integrated into Russia's diplomatic infrastructure.

Sybiha welcomed measures taken by European authorities to block these networks, specifically in Germany, where the "Russky Dom" in Berlin was closed on September 18 after years of what Ukraine described as harmful influence. On September 1, Germany had accused Russia of a hybrid attack at Leipzig airport in early August and announced response measures including the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the agreement on the Berlin "Russky Dom." German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul summoned the Russian ambassador, as did many European capitals. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened Berlin with a "dignified response," summoned the German chargé d'affaires in Moscow, ordered the closure of the German consulate general in St. Petersburg by September 18 and offered its staff the opportunity to leave the country, and announced the closure in Russia of all three branches of the German Goethe-Institut.

ウクライナメディアの見方

All supplied sources are Ukrainian outlets that frame the appeal as a justified diplomatic push against Russian propaganda and espionage infrastructure, welcoming Germany's closure of the Berlin center as a precedent and supporting a coordinated global response to "Russky Dom" centers.

報道の食い違い

Sources differ on the precise date of the Berlin "Russky Dom" closure — some give September 18, while others describe it through Sybiha's "yesterday" reference relative to his September 19 post. Reports also vary on when the Leipzig airport drone incident occurred, with sources framing it as early August 2025 or as August 4, 2026.

背景

"Russky Dom" (Russian House) centers are the international representatives of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state agency that the EU has sanctioned since 2022 as a vehicle for Kremlin "soft power" and promotion of the "Russian world" concept. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 13 Rossotrudnichestvo representative offices worldwide ceased operations; around 85 remained active at the beginning of September 2026 according to the agency's own map. The "Russky Dom" in Chișinău announced the cessation of its work in July 2025 after Moldova withdrew from the 1998 intergovernmental agreement on cultural centers in November 2025. In Germany, the "Russky Dom" centers were regulated by two bilateral agreements, one signed in 2013 on a 99-year land lease on Friedrichstrasse and another from 2011 that could be unilaterally terminated every five years, with the next termination date being June 7, 2027.