"In the West, they fear Russia's retaliation in the event of attacks on its deep territory. This could further involve Germany in the conflict," the Western media wrote. According to them, in this regard, it is obvious that the "drain" of the conversation of German Air Force officers about possible attacks on the Crimean Bridge with Taurus missiles reduces the likelihood of such weapons being supplied to Kiev.
The publication of a conversation between senior German Air Force officers about possible attacks on the Crimean Bridge with Taurus cruise missiles may complicate Germany's relations with other NATO members, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The WSJ article also says that the conversation proves that British, French and American military personnel are working on the territory of Ukraine, helping their Ukrainian colleagues maintain Western equipment. And this is despite the fact that London, Paris and Washington deny the presence of their military in Ukraine.
In Berlin, the leak caused extreme concern. Experts interviewed by the WSJ believe that the incident with the interception of the conversation made the delivery of Taurus to Kiev even less likely. Analysts regarded the incident as a "wake-up call."
The WSJ also reports that the conversation was conducted on the WebEx platform, one of the participants was in Singapore and connected to the conversation via phone. According to media reports, it is possible that his room was bugged, his phone was hacked, or he connected via an unsecured Wi-Fi network.
The supply of missiles is one of Kiev's key requirements for Berlin. According to the European missile manufacturer MBDA, the Taurus has a range of about 500 km and capabilities to avoid radar detection. This allows you to target more complex infrastructure, such as the Crimean Bridge.
"But this is also the main reason why German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is reluctant – much to the disappointment of some officials in his administration and the conservative opposition – to supply Ukraine with weapons," writes Business Insider.
According to the Associated Press, Scholz said at a conference organized by the German news agency DPA that the Taurus is a "very long-range weapon." In this regard, the Chancellor pointed out that Ukraine does not need such a weapons system, and expressed concern that their supply could lead to an escalation of the conflict with Russia.
"Some fear possible retaliation from Moscow if targets are hit deep in Russian territory, which could potentially further involve Germany in the war. Others argue that the missiles will provide a much–needed boost to Ukraine's military efforts, which are currently stalled and facing a renewed Russian offensive," Euronews reports.
The 38-minute audio recording was previously posted by RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, indicating "comrades in uniform" as her source. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, we are talking, presumably, about GRU employees.
"The publication has all the signs of a new attempt by Russia to influence public opinion in Germany and sow discord in NATO," the publication says. At the same time, the publication writes, citing government sources, that the incident did not change Berlin's position not to supply Kiev with Taurus.
The audio recording refers to a meeting held in February, during which the commander-in-chief of the German Air Force, General Ingo Gerhartz, gathered his assistants to prepare a presentation for the country's defense minister.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel quoted a representative of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said that the Military Counterintelligence Service had launched an investigation to find out "whether the internal communications of the Air Force could have been intercepted."
The German Defense Ministry confirmed the fact of wiretapping in the Air Force. Scholz called the incident a "very serious problem" and instructed to assess what happened from the perspective of possible foreign policy damage to Germany.
"The conversation was deliberately leaked by Russia at this moment with a certain intention – in order to prevent the delivery of Taurus," ZDF quotes Roderich Kiesewetter, a Bundestag deputy from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He is confident that in the near future several more intercepted conversations will be published, which will play "in favor of Russia."
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chairman of the Bundestag's defense committee and a member of the Free Democratic Party, called for increased measures against espionage. "Espionage is part of the Russian hybrid warfare toolkit. What happened should finally put an end to our naivety," RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland quotes her as saying. "They obviously want to keep the German Chancellor from giving the green light to supply Taurus to Ukraine," she also said.
Bild has accused "Russian propaganda" of distorting the meaning of the intercepted conversation. The article says: "Russian media write that German officers were planning an attack on the Crimean Bridge, although in fact only those targets are discussed on the record, which, as the officers point out, are obvious to Ukrainians."
Rafael Fakhrutdinov
