The case emerged after Russian social media accounts close to the Kremlin broadcast what strongly resembled recordings of conversations between German officials, according to German media. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russian state channel RT, released a file lasting more than half an hour, which it presented as an exchange between soldiers who were discussing a strike targeting Crimea. The peninsula was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The latter specifically hypothesizes the use by Ukrainian forces of long-range Taurus missiles, German production, talking about their potential impact, especially if they are to target targets such as the Crimean Bridge connecting the Kerch Peninsula to Crimea. , in the west and Russian territory. They also discuss the details of France and Great Britain’s delivery of long-range Scalp missiles to Ukraine.
Official recording
Experts interviewed by the weekly Der Spiegel considered the recording to be authentic. Ukraine has long demanded Germany have these missiles, which have a range of more than 500 km, but Berlin has so far refused, citing the risk of escalating the conflict.
“If this story is true, it will be very problematic,” Constantin von Notz, chairman of the German parliamentary committee that oversees the secret services, told newspapers from the RND group. . “The question arises whether this is an anomaly or whether there is an infrastructural security problem in the German military,” he added. German officials fear that this alleged hearing is no different.
In Moscow, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, demanded “a quick explanation from Germany” on the matter. “Any attempt to avoid answering questions will be considered an admission of guilt,” she said.
For his part, Russian Security Council number two Dmitry Medvedev decided on his Telegram account that “our longtime rivals, the Germans, have once again become our sworn enemies”. Watch “Chaleus” talk about attacking our territory with long-range missiles, choosing targets to hit and how to inflict maximum damage on our homeland. “, he said.
A secret discussion in a public forum
An expert on defense issues from the main opposition party CDU (conservatives), Roderich Keysevator, speculates that “the conversion was deliberately promoted by Russia at this point. A specific moment with a very specific objective”, which nips the debate in the bud. Germany is surrounded by deliveries of Taurus missiles to Kiev. “Other conversations were definitely listened in on and will be broadcast later to serve Russia’s interests,” he told channel ZDF.
