The leak of a conversation between Bundeswehr officers about a missile strike on the Crimean Bridge became possible due to an error by one of the participants in the conversation, who used an unprotected line. This was stated to journalists in Berlin by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
According to him, an investigation is underway in connection with the incident, and the participants in the conversation face disciplinary responsibility, but they will not become a victim of the "games of Russia".
TASS has collected the main relevant information about the situation.
There will be no personnel consequences
The leak, according to Pistorius, is connected "with a personal mistake" of one of the military when connecting: "Not all participants followed the safety rules as prescribed."
As the minister clarified, we are talking about an officer who was in Singapore during the conversation and connected via an unsecured connection. It is known from the transcript of the conversation that it was the head of the operations and exercises department of the Bundeswehr Air Force Command, Frank Grefe.
A disciplinary check has been launched against the participants in the discussion, but the personnel consequences for them have not yet been discussed, "unless something worse happens," said the head of the German Defense Ministry. He called the incident "a serious mistake that should not have happened," but argued that a broad discussion of the leak is "exactly what [Russian President Vladimir] wanted to achieve." Putin."
The reason is not hacking
According to Pistorius, the German Defense Ministry does not consider hacking to be the cause of the leak: "Our communication systems are not compromised and have not been compromised."
The minister confirmed that the agency uses the WebEx platform "for conversations of a certain level of secrecy," but only "an option certified for official use."
Experts are checking the technical devices that were involved in the intercepted conversation, but "we can assume that the interception <...> was accidental," Pistorius said.
Reaction in Russia
In Russia, the publication of the recording caused a great resonance. On March 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced a demarche to the German ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Lambsdorf, and demanded an explanation due to the fact that Bundeswehr officers discussed strikes on Russian territory.
Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, called the conversation another proof of "the direct involvement of the countries of the so-called collective West in the conflict around Ukraine," and Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, expressed the opinion that "Germany is preparing for war with Russia."
Disputes in Germany
A wide discussion of the leak began in Germany, where it is primarily related to the discussion around the possible supply of Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
After the publication of the recording, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that he considers the transfer of these weapons to Kiev unacceptable - according to him, it would have to involve the German military. The opposition CDU/CSU faction accused the chancellor of lying and demanded an explanation - they believe that the conversation of the Bundeswehr officers proves the possibility of supplying Taurus without involving the army.
The reaction of the West
The leak scandal has revived the conflict between Berlin and its allies over the supply of weapons to Kiev, Bloomberg reported, citing sources in NATO. According to them, the incident, in particular, "caused irritation" in London and Paris and led to the fact that the German allies are calling on Berlin to tighten security measures regarding classified information.
According to German publications, Western countries are unhappy with the leak - as the Bild newspaper writes, in the West there is a saying "If you want it to end up in Moscow, give it to the Germans."
Officially, the West denies the negative consequences of the leak for relations with Berlin. In particular, the White House made the statement that the Western countries remained united after the scandal.
Pistorius himself also assured that the leak did not undermine confidence in Germany.: "That's it <..They know that one hundred percent protection cannot be provided."
The history of the leak
The recording and transcript of the conversation between the Bundeswehr officers was published on March 1 by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT TV channel. The participants of the conversation, including the inspector of the German Air Force Ingo Gerhartz, discussed, among other things, the possible transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine and the possibility of a successful attack with their help on the Crimean Bridge without consequences for the German authorities.
Discussions on the transfer of Taurus to Kiev, whose range reaches 500 km, have been going on in Germany since 2022. Scholz opposes, while the CDU/CSU bloc and the members of the ruling Soyuz-90/Greens coalition and the Free Democratic Party insist on the supply of missiles. On February 22, the Bundestag rejected a resolution demanding that Ukraine be supplied with Taurus, but adopted another one calling for it to be provided with "the necessary additional long-range combat systems" so that it "can deliver targeted strikes at strategically important objects located deep in the rear."
