bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Germany accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to sow disunity with the wiretap leak of a confidential German army discussion on the Ukraine war, at a time when Berlin is under pressure to supply the Taurus missile to Kyiv.
A 38-minute recording of the talks was posted online late Friday on Russian social media, with the participants discussing the possible use of German-made Taurus missiles and their potential impact.
The discussions also covered the use of long-range missiles provided to Kyiv by France and Britain.
“It is about using this recording to destabilise and unsettle us,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday, adding that he “hoped that Putin will not succeed”.




Pistorius said he was not aware of any further leaks at the army and added that he would await the result of a military probe into the case before drawing any conclusions.
Kyiv has long been clamouring for Germany to provide it with Taurus missiles, which can reach targets up to 500km (about 300 miles) away.
Putin warns West of nuclear war risk, says Russia can strike Western targets
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far refused to send the missiles, fearing that it would lead to an escalation of the conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.
With the war in Ukraine in its third year, Kyiv has ramped up its pleas for more military support from allies.
On the front lines, its soldiers are outgunned and outnumbered and ammunition shortages are being felt.
The acquisition of Taurus missiles would provide a massive boost for Ukraine as Kyiv struggles to fend off Russia’s invigorated push on the front lines.
France and Britain have supplied Kyiv with SCALP or Storm Shadow missiles, both of which have a range of about 250km.
But Scholz on Monday said that Germany could not justify matching British and French moves in sending long-range missiles to Ukraine and supporting the weapon system’s deployment.

“This is a very long-range weapon, and what the British and French are doing in terms of targeting and supporting targeting cannot be done in Germany,” Scholz said, without specifying exactly what he meant.
Part of the conversation in the leaked recording however appeared to call into question Scholz’s explanation on why he could not provide Kyiv with the missiles.
Britain has denied that it had any direct involvement in operating the missiles.
Putin sends signal to West with flight on nuclear-capable bomber
“Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow and its targeting processes are the business of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said in a statement.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Security Council, on Sunday said: “Germany is preparing for war with Russia”.
Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Turkey on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the recording indicated that Ukraine and its backers “do not want to change their course at all, and want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield”.
With politicians in Germany urging answers over the wiretap, Pistorius warned that the leak is “part of an information war that Putin is carrying out”.
“We should not fall for Putin’s line,” he said.


Ukraine war: EU freezes Russian assets so Hungary, Slovakia can’t veto use to help Kyiv

EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening

Ukraine says it ‘liberated’ two settlements in Kharkiv, encircling Russian troops

Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Germany accuses Putin of seeking to ‘destabilise’ with wiretap

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP

Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Photo: dpa

Ukraine war: Nato’s European members rule out sending troops to front lines as Russia rebukes Macron

France’s Emmanuel Macron triggered shockwaves through Europe when he said the West should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine to battle Russia. Photo: TNS

Europe battles gunpowder shortage to supply shells for Ukraine’s defence against Russia

Police officers inspect an artillery shell in the front line town of Orikhiv in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on February 28. Photo: Reuters


‘It harms us’: Ukraine says half of Western arms delivered late

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visits the former headquarters of the regional administration of Mykolaiv Oblast on Sunday during her two-day visit to Ukraine. The building was hit by Russian missiles in March 2022 and almost completely destroyed. Photo: dpa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ukraine ahead of a bilateral meeting on Saturday, the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. Photo: dpa

A woman holds a protest sign against Russia during a demonstration in Brazil on Saturday against the invasion of Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE

Europe must strengthen defence capabilities regardless of US elections, Ukraine war: Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands in Berlin on Friday. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

Europe

German defence minister said leaked audio is part of Russia’s ‘information war’ against West
German army discussions involved support for Ukraine, including the potential use of Taurus missiles


Germany accused Russia’s president of trying to sow disunity with the wiretap leak of a confidential German army discussion on the Ukraine war.
