armed forces
Were Air Force communications intercepted?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected a possible delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine (archive photo). photo
© Bundeswehr/Bundeswehr/dpa
A Russian propagandist publishes a recording that is said to come from a confidential conversation between German Air Force officers. Security politicians are alarmed.
After the Russian publication of an alleged recording At the Bundeswehr meeting, Green security politician Konstantin von Notz called for clarification. “If this story turns out to be true, it would be a highly problematic process,” said the chairman of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Committee to the Editorial Network Germany (RND). “The question arises as to whether this is a one-off event or a structural security problem. I expect all background information to be clarified immediately.”
The head of the Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonjan, published an audio recording of the approximately 30-minute conversation on Friday, which may have been intercepted. In it, senior Air Force officers can be heard discussing the theoretical possibilities of using German Taurus cruise missiles by Ukraine.
The German Ministry of Defense is now checking whether communications within the Air Force were intercepted. “The Federal Office for the Military Counterintelligence Service (BAMAD) has initiated all necessary measures,” said a spokeswoman for the ministry on Friday in response to a request from the German Press Agency. “We cannot say anything about the content of the communication that was apparently intercepted.”
Details on the Taurus debate and explosive statements about allies
Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, among others, is said to have taken part in the conversation; it is said to have served as preparation for a briefing for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). The exchange heard in the audio file addresses, among other things, the question of whether Taurus cruise missiles would technically be theoretically capable of destroying the bridge built by Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in violation of international law. Another point in the discussion is whether Ukraine could carry out the shelling without the participation of the Bundeswehr. However, it can also be heard in the recording that there is no green light at the political level for the delivery of the cruise missiles demanded by Kiev.
What is explosive is that there is talk of the British having “a few people on site” in connection with the use of their Storm Shadow cruise missiles delivered to Ukraine. There had just been anger in Great Britain over a statement made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which some interpreted as an indiscretion. “What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompaniment of target control cannot be done in Germany,” said the SPD politician. He left it open what exactly he meant by that. However, the sentence was understood by some as an indication that the French and British would support the control of their Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles, which were delivered to Ukraine, with their own forces. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately denied this: “Ukraine’s use of the Storm Shadow long-range missile system and the target selection process are the responsibility of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Kiesewetter: Russia wants to stop Taurus deliveries
The CDU defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter told ZDF with regard to the publication: “One must assume that the conversation was specifically leaked by Russia at this point in time with a specific intention. This can only be a Taurus delivery through Germany to prevent.” Russia wants to deter Scholz by “publicly showing how deeply Russia has already clarified the German preparations for the decision.” Kiesewetter also suspected: “This Bundeswehr leak may be a Russian attempt to steer the public debate away from the Wirecard revelations and the funeral of Alexei Navalny.”
Chancellor Scholz has emphasized several times that he is against the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, which Kiev has repeatedly demanded. He justified this with the danger that Germany could be drawn into the war of aggression started by Russia.