Germany alarmed Russia may have recorded armed forces briefing on Ukraine
- In audio published by Russian media, senior air force officers can be heard discussing the theoretical possibility of Ukraine using German Taurus cruise missiles
- Germany is investigating whether confidential communications were intercepted. It has repeatedly ruled out supplying the missiles despite Kyiv’s requests
German lawmakers are demanding clarification after the publication of an alleged Bundeswehr (armed forces) briefing by a Russian media outlet in which sensitive issues relating to Ukraine were apparently discussed.
“If this story turns out to be true, it would be a highly problematic incident,” Konstantin von Notz, the chairman of the Bundestag’s parliamentary oversight committee, told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) news agency.
He was referring to a 30-minute audio recording published on Friday by the head of Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, which German lawmakers fear could have been intercepted.
In the clip, senior air force officers can be heard discussing the theoretical possibility of Ukraine using German Taurus cruise missiles.
The German Ministry of Defence is investigating whether confidential communications may have been intercepted, a ministry spokeswoman told dpa.
Sources told dpa on Saturday that the recording was genuine and that the discussion was hosted on Webex, a US-made online conferencing platform.