"Authentic conversation"

German officers wiretapped: recording on the net

Russian propagandists have published a telephone recording of German officers talking about the Taurus cruise missile (photo).(Bild: AFP)

According to reports, Russia has intercepted an internal conversation between German army officers about details of a possible Taurus delivery to Ukraine. A recording is now circulating on the internet. The authenticity of the recordings has not yet been officially confirmed, but according to several media outlets, the conversation actually took place.

The recording published by Russian state-affiliated media is therefore not a fake. A spokeswoman for the German Ministry of Defense stated that the matter was being investigated. Der Spiegel reported that the Russian platform Russia Today published a 30-minute audio recording on Friday.

A recording is circulating on the internet:

In it, air force chief Ingo Gerhartz can be heard discussing details of a possible Taurus delivery to Ukraine with several high-ranking officers.

Training Ukrainian pilots
Among other things, they discuss how to help with the training of Ukrainian pilots and the programming of the systems. Possible targets were also discussed. Among other things, ammunition depots and the strategically important Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia with the mainland, were mentioned. The magazine writes that the recordings are classified as authentic.

According to information from ZDF and the German Press Agency (dpa), the recording of the Bundeswehr meeting is genuine. The conversation is authentic and took place, reports dpa without naming the sources.

Scholz cautious about Taurus deliveries
 Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised swift clarification. On the fringes of a visit to the Vatican on Saturday, the SPD politician spoke of a "very serious matter". In response to a question from dpa about possible foreign policy damage, he said: "That is why this is now being investigated very carefully, very intensively and very quickly. That is also necessary."

Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)(Bild: AFP)

Scholz has so far firmly rejected the delivery of the cruise missiles. According to the reports, the officers assumed during their talks that Scholz had given the green light for the Taurus delivery.

Politicians concerned about reports
Konstantin von Notz (Green Party), Chairman of the Bundestag's Parliamentary Control Committee, told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland: "If this story turns out to be true, it would be a highly problematic event." The question arises as to whether this is a one-off incident or a structural security problem.

CDU defense politician Roderich Kiesewetter warned against the publication of further wiretapped conversations. He told ZDF television: "There will certainly have been a number of other intercepted conversations and they may be leaked at a later date for the benefit of Russia."

It can be assumed "that the conversation was deliberately leaked by Russia at this point in time with a specific intention. This can only be to prevent a Taurus delivery by Germany."

Moscow demands "explanations from Germany"
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, however, demanded "explanations from Germany". Attempts to avoid answering these questions "will be seen as an admission of guilt", said Maria Zakharova.