Intercepted conversations between German army generals, in which they discuss potential attacks on the Kerch bridge in Crimea, “show the direct involvement of the West in the conflict in Ukraine.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated this, Russian news agencies report. In the morning, the German Ambassador to Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorff, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry after the audio was broadcast by Russia today, a newspaper controlled by the Kremlin. “The German ambassador arrived at the Russian Foreign Ministry, where he was summoned as part of the publicized conversation between German officials on Crimea,” writes the Russian agency. Ria Novostiwho also posts a video.
The alleged intercepted conversation
The recording dates back to February 19, but was made known by the boss of the channel. Russia today, Margarita Simonyan, March 1. 38 minutes of conversation during which German officers, including Air Force Commander Ingo Gerhartz, discussed among themselves Ukraine's possible use of (German-made) Taurus cruise missiles, their potential impact and the possibility of directing them towards the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014. “The bridge to the east is difficult to reach because it is a small target, but the Taurus could do it and could also hit the ammunition depots”, this is one of the stages of the conversation.
Scholz in the storm
The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has always spoken out against sending the Taurus, capable of hitting targets up to 500 kilometers away, into kyiv's armed forces. The fear is always the same: a possible escalation that would drag Berlin and the whole of NATO into the conflict. In an attempt to justify her “no”, the Chancellor had found herself in a storm in recent days for having suggested that Paris and London were directly exploiting the missiles (Scalp and Storm Shadow) supplied to Ukraine. A blunder a diplomacy which aroused the anger of the British and French allies, then refused by its own government majority. In the aftermath of what we call flee The Russian head of the CSU delegation to the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, also asked Scholz to appear in the chamber. “The news is strange in two respects: on the one hand, the security conversations are being listened to by the Russians, and on the other hand, the chancellor justifies his refusal to hand over the Taurus” to kyiv “with a false statement.” he told the Spiegel the former German Minister of Transport, demanding that the Chancellor come and “explain to the Bundestag”.
The Berlin investigations
Meanwhile, Berlin is investigating the leak. The problem is “very serious” and the investigation will be “rapid and thorough”, Scholz reacted immediately. A few later, confirmation from the German Ministry of Defense: “We are examining the communications relating to the military forces which were the subject of wiretapping, military counter-espionage has deployed all necessary measures,” explained the ministry, who also accused Putin of wanting to “destabilize” Germany. But while waiting for the leak to be clarified, Scholz's already tarnished image suffers a new blow on the international scene.
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