On Monday, the German government strongly denied accusations that Russia’s release of a conversation involving senior German military officers suggested Berlin was gearing up for war with Russia.
Simultaneously, the government worked to manage the internal repercussions of the leak and assured a prompt investigation into how a conversation among high-ranking German military officials could be intercepted and made public.
“It is crystal clear that the allegations suggesting that this discussion would indicate Germany’s readiness for war against Russia are simply baseless Russian propaganda,” stated a representative for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press briefing in Berlin.
The 38-minute recording includes military officers conversing in German about the potential use of Taurus long-range cruise missiles by Kyiv against invading Russian forces.
German authorities have not doubted the authenticity of the recording. Scholz stated a week ago that sending weapons to Ukraine is not on the table, and he is against Germany getting involved in the war directly.
On Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry warned Germany of potential severe repercussions related to the leak, without providing further details.
“If no action is taken, and the German people do not intervene, there will be severe repercussions primarily for Germany,” stated Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.
The relationship between the two nations has been steadily declining ever since Russia’s incursion into Ukraine two years ago.
The audio breach was shared on social media on Friday by Margarita Simonyan, head editor of the Russian state-funded television channel RT.
It happened on the same day that opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who passed away two weeks ago in an Arctic prison colony for unknown reasons, was put to rest.
It emerged shortly before the upcoming presidential election in Russia.
German Officers’ Taurus Missile Talks in Ukraine Leaked Audio
According to a report by the German news agency dpa, leaked audio reveals discussions among four officers, including the head of Germany’s Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, about deployment scenarios for Taurus missiles in Ukraine prior to a meeting with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The officers mentioned that early delivery and rapid deployment of Taurus long-range cruise missiles would only be possible with the participation of German soldiers — and that training Ukrainian soldiers to deploy the Taurus on their own would be possible, but would take months.
According to a report by dpa, the recording reveals that the German government has not approved the delivery of the cruise missiles requested by Ukraine.
Germany is currently discussing the possibility of providing missiles to Ukraine due to Kyiv’s recent battlefield challenges, while military assistance from the United States is pending in Congress.
Germany has become the second-largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine following the US, and is increasing its support this year.
Scholz’s recent decision to withhold Taurus missiles from Ukraine followed Germany’s prolonged delay in fulfilling the country’s request for these missiles, which have a range of up to 310 miles and could potentially target locations deep inside Russian territory.
The ambassador of Germany paid a visit to the foreign ministry in Moscow, Russia. According to reports from Russian media, Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff was summoned by the foreign ministry.
However, the German government stated that his visit had been scheduled well before the audio was published.
Germany’s defense ministry attempted to minimize the importance of the officers’ discussion in the leak, stating that it was simply a casual exchange of ideas before a meeting with the defense minister.
