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Written by Andreas Linke and Rachel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany on Monday accused Russia of leaking intercepted recordings of German military discussions on how to support Ukraine against a Kremlin invasion aimed at dividing Europe. .
Last week, Russian media released an audio recording of a Webex meeting of senior German military officials discussing weapons destined for Ukraine and a possible Kiev attack on a bridge in Crimea.
Germany confirmed the 38-minute call was genuine and said it was investigating what it called an apparent Russian eavesdropping as part of “information warfare.”
Participants in the conference call will discuss the possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, which Prime Minister Olaf Scholz has publicly rejected. We will also discuss how France and the UK deploy and operate their short-range cruise missiles.
There has been little public reaction from the allies so far, but analysts say this is another major security breach and reveals how reluctant Germany is to get too involved in the war. He said the recording was likely to strain the relationship, given the fact that the
“This hybrid attack is designed to cause anxiety and divide us,” a government spokesperson said on Monday. “And that is exactly what we will not tolerate. We are in constant communication with our partners.”
The Russian government accuses “Western countries” of using Ukraine to wage a proxy war against Russia. NATO claims it is helping Ukraine defend itself from a war of aggression.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that the leak was a matter for Germany to investigate and that Britain would continue to work with Germany in supporting Ukraine.
Still, he added that the UK was the first country to provide Ukraine with long-range precision attack missiles and would “encourage our allies to do the same”.
Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP and former chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, told the BBC’s Radio for Today program that given Russia’s large-scale espionage operations, there is probably nothing we don’t already know through the leaks. He also said he didn’t know.
“This does not preclude a serious dialogue in the diplomatic corridors between Germany and the UK, and even NATO, about why this happened in the first place,” he said.
Germany has suffered several embarrassing security breaches recently, with authorities arresting a German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) official on suspicion of spying for Russia in late 2022.
“It is a wake-up call that we are being targeted by (Russian President) Putin,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Monday.
Was the German ambassador summoned?
The Kremlin said on Monday that the recording showed German troops discussing plans to launch an attack on Russian territory, and questioned whether Scholz was in control of the situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “The recording itself states that plans to launch an attack on Russian territory are being substantially and concretely discussed within the Bundeswehr.” Ta.
“Here we have to find out whether the Bundeswehr is doing this on its own. And the question is: to what extent does the Bundeswehr have control and to what extent does Mr. Scholz control the situation?” “Is it true?” Peskov said.
He said both scenarios were “very bad. Both scenarios re-emphasize the West’s direct involvement in the conflict around Ukraine.”
A German government spokesperson said the accusations of war preparations were “ridiculous” propaganda.
“Russia was horrified last year by Olaf Scholz’s U-turn on dispatching the Leopard 2 tank,” Eurointelligence analysts wrote in a briefing note. “They now want to make sure he sticks to his guns on Taurus missiles.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had asked German Ambassador Alexander Graf Ramsdorff to explain the discussion. It was not made clear how the ambassador reacted.
It is the second time in a week that Moscow has swooped in on what it sees as evidence of Western intentions to attack Russia directly.
Putin’s allies said last week that any French troops would die like Napoleon’s soldiers who invaded Russia in 1812, after French President Emmanuel Macron hinted that European countries could send troops to Ukraine. He said he would face defeat.
Putin said in a speech Thursday that Western countries risking nuclear war if they send troops to Ukraine.
(Reporting by Andreas Linke, Rachel More and Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Alistair Smout and Elizabeth Piper in London; Philip Lebedev in Tbilisi; writing by Mark Trevelyan and Sarah Marsh; Timothy Heritage, Nick McPhee) , edited by Alex Richardson)
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