The German army is investigating an audio recording attributed to high-ranking military personnel talking about arming Ukraine, and published by Russian media, raising fears of espionage in the country, as well as Russian demands for clarification.
The German military is investigating an audio recording released by Russian media that purports to be of a conference call of high-ranking German military officials talking about providing weapons to Ukraine, raising fears of espionage in Germany and Russian demands for clarification.
A spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that the ministry cannot confirm the authenticity of the recording, but that “the Federal Office of the Army Counterintelligence Service is investigating the matter and will take all necessary steps.”
Margarita Simonyan, a journalist on Russian state television and head of the Russia Today channel, was the first to publish the audio recording, yesterday, Friday, which was also published on the Telegram platform of the channel she heads.
Participants in the call, which lasted 38 minutes, discussed the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far strongly rejected publicly. They also talked about training Ukrainian soldiers and potential military targets.
The Russian embassy in Berlin did not respond to a request for comment on “allegations of Russian spying” against Germany. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on social media yesterday, Friday: “We demand an explanation from Germany regarding the recording.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters today, Saturday: “The cunning plans of the German armed forces became clear after the publication of this audio recording,It is a blatant self-exposure.”