03/03/2024 – 17:42
Russian intention in intercepting and leaking videoconference between senior officials about the war in Ukraine would be to undermine German political unity, says Defense chief. Content of the conversation is, in fact, embarrassing for Berlin. In the first official reaction against the leak, by a Russian state broadcaster, of sensitive information relating to Germany's security, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius accused this Sunday (03/03) Moscow of be waging an “information war”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to “destabilize” the country, Pristorius told the press: “The objective is clearly to undermine our unity […], sowing political division at home. I sincerely hope that Putin does not succeed and that we remain united.” The incident “is much more than just the interception and disclosure of a conversation, it is part of an information war that Putin is waging.”
On Friday, Margarita Simonyan, director of the Russian state broadcaster RT, released on the Telegram platform a 38-minute audio in which four senior German officers, including the head of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, debated the possibility of supplying missiles Taurus long-range targets for Ukraine, what would be needed to allow local forces to use them, and their possible impact.
Embarrassment for Berlin
In the leaked audio, officials consider whether the German-made Taurus missiles would be capable of destroying a bridge – an apparent allusion to the new link between the Crimean peninsula, under Russian occupation, and the territory of the invading country, across the Strait of Kerch. They are also debating how the Ukrainians could be provided with information on strategic targets without getting directly involved in the conflict with Russia.
The content of this confidential conversation is highly embarrassing for Germany, which officially refuses to supply the missiles to Kiev, fearing greater involvement in the war in Ukraine. The officials also reveal details about how the United Kingdom and France are helping the Ukrainian army use the Storm Shadow/Scalp-EG cruise missiles, which both countries have supplied to Kiev to combat the invader.
On Saturday, the German Ministry of Defense confirmed the authenticity of the material. Apparently, the recording was made during a video conference, which, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel, would not have taken place via a secure line, but rather via the Webex platform.
On a visit to Rome, Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, described the issue as “very serious”, promising that “it will now be investigated very carefully, intensely and quickly”.
In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova demanded an “immediate” explanation from Berlin, claiming that the audio was proof of a “hybrid war” by the West against Russia.
Isolated incident or structural safety failure?
So far German sources have avoided the term “espionage”. The Bundestag (lower house of parliament) special commissioner for military affairs, Eva Högl, called for the need for senior military officers to undergo intensive training on secure communications.
The president of the Bundestag control body, Konstantin von Notz, commented that it was necessary to determine “whether this is an isolated incident or a structural security problem”. Committee vice-chairman Roderich Kiesewetter said he believed Russia leaked the interaction to pressure Berlin not to supply the Taurus to Ukraine. And he anticipated: “A number of other conversations will certainly have been intercepted and will perhaps be revealed later, to the benefit of Russia.”
To date, Scholz has refused to make cruise missiles available for defense against the Russians. A few days ago, he argued that the range of weapons and the likely need for assistance by soldiers of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) were problematic and could be interpreted as indirect participation in the war.
av (AFP,Lusa,Reuters,DPA)
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