Putin is trying to ‘destabilise’ Germany with ‘wiretap leak’ of ‘secret army talks on striking occupied Crimea’, Defence Minister warns
- Germany has accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country
- RT published a leaked audio file of German officers discussing the attack on Crimea
- Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to sow division with the wiretap leak of a confidential German army conversation about the war in Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday.
“The point is to use this recording to destabilize and disrupt us,” the German minister said, adding that he “hoped that Putin would not succeed.”
The German Defense Ministry said on Saturday it is checking whether a confidential video conference on the war in Ukraine had been tapped after a recording was posted on Russian social media.
The head of the Russian state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, posted on Friday a 38-minute audio recording of what she said was German officers discussing the attack on Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
“We are investigating whether communications in the air force sector have been intercepted,” a Defense Ministry spokeswoman told AFP.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (photo) said on Sunday that Russia was trying to destabilize the country
The head of the Russian state-backed RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, posted a 38-minute audio recording on Friday of what she said was German officers discussing the attack on Crimea (File image)
Putin is accused of wanting to destabilize Germany
In the recording, discussions can be heard about the possible use by Ukrainian forces of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact.
Other topics include aiming the missiles at targets such as a key bridge connecting Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland across the Kerch Strait.
Experts consulted by Der Spiegel magazine said they believed the recording was authentic.
Kiev has been calling on Germany for some time to supply the country with Taurus missiles, which can reach targets up to 500 kilometers away.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send the missiles, fearing it would lead to an escalation of the conflict.
In the recording, discussions can be heard about the possible use by Ukrainian forces of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact (File image)
According to Der Spiegel, the video conference was not held on a secret internal army network, but on the WebEx platform (File image)
A Ukrainian Volunteer Army soldier prepares ammunition to fire at Russian frontline positions near Bakhmut
A Ukrainian soldier from an artillery unit fires at Russian positions outside Bakhmut
āIf this story turns out to be true, it would be a very problematic event,ā Green Party politician Konstantin von Notz told the RND broadcaster.
āThe question arises whether this is a one-off incident or a structural safety problem,ā he added.
Roderich Kiesewetter, of the opposition Conservatives, warned that more recordings could be leaked.
“A number of other conversations will certainly have been intercepted and could be leaked at a later date for the benefit of Russia,” he told broadcaster ZDF.
It can be assumed “that the conversation at this time was deliberately leaked by Russia with a specific intention,” namely “to prevent the delivery of Taurus by Germany,” he said.
According to Der Spiegel, the video conference did not take place on a secret internal army network, but on the WebEx platform.